Grateful Dead Singer Who Also Worked With Elvis Presley, Cher and Neil Diamond Dead at 78

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, a former singer for the Grateful Dead, passed away in Nashville following “a lengthy struggle with cancer” on Sunday, November 2, according to a statement given to Rolling Stone.

She was 78.

“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home,” the statement continued.

The native Alabaman was a session singer at the legendary recording studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in the 1960s, providing back-up for hits including Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” She also worked with Duane Allman, Cher, Neil Diamond and Boz Scaggs, Rolling Stone reported.

She joined the Grateful Dead in 1971 alongside her late husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux. Her voice can be heard on albums including Europe ’72, Wake of the Flood and Terrapin Station.

Godchaux-MacKay also sang with her own bands, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994.