Donna Jean Godchaux sang with the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. By the time she was 15, she was singing back-up vocals on sessions at Rick Hall’s Fame recording studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She sang on numerous songs recorded at Fame, including Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” She headed to San Francisco in the summer of 1970 where she met keyboardist Keith Godchaux, and they married shortly thereafter. In 1971 Keith joined the Dead, and Donna joined a short while later. She recorded with the band on Wake of the Flood, From the Mars Hotel, Blues for Allah, Terrapin Station, and Shakedown Street. During their tenure with the Dead, the Godchauxs released the album Keith and Donna, with Garcia on guitar. They also appeared with the Jerry Garcia Band. After leaving the Dead, they formed the Heart of Gold Band.

 

Then, after the death of Keith in 1980, Donna remarried and moved back to Alabama to work at Muscle Shoals. In 2009, she formed a new band, the Donna Jean Godchaux Band, with Jeff Mattson.  This event is FREE with a ticket reservation online at http://tickets.rockhall.com or in-person at the Rock Hall Box Office. Tickets will become available to Rock Hall Members on Thursday, June 14 at 10 a.m. EST and will become available to the general public on Friday, June 15 at 10 a.m. EST. A limited number of tickets will be available for those without internet access through the Rock Hall’s RSVP phone system by calling (216) 515-8426. This event will be streamed on rockhall.com