Encore: Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay Is Grateful

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Black Friday Savings are here at The Home Depot, which means it's time to add new cordless power to your collection. Right now, when you buy a select battery kit from one of our top brands like Ryobi or Milwaukee, you'll get a select tool from that same brand for free. Click into one of our best deals of the season and stock up on tools for all your upcoming projects. Get Black Friday Savings happening now at The Home Depot. Limit one per transaction, and exclusions apply full eligible tool list in store and online.

Sid Evans (0:30)

Hey, y'all, we're taking a break this week for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to reshare a conversation that I had back in 2023 with Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay, who passed away on November 2nd in Nashville, Tennessee. Donna Jean was an Alabama native who got her start as a session singer in Muscle Shoals, working with legends like Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley. In 1972, she joined the Grateful Dead and performed with them until 1979, earning her a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later in life, she led several versions of the Donna Jean Godchaux Band, which featured members of Phil Lesh and Friends, the Zen Tricksters and the Dark Star Orchestra, just to name a few. Donna Jean's remarkable career spanned more than 55 years, but her musical legacy lives on, and I'll always be grateful that I had the chance to hear her story. I hope you all enjoy it.

Welcome to Biscuits & Jam from Southern Living. I'm Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living Magazine, and I have a confession for y'all. I've been a fan of the Grateful Dead since I was in high school, and today I am very excited to be talking with someone who performed with that band for some of their most formative years. Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay got her start as a session singer when she was just a teenager in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and her voice appeared on iconic hits by Percy Sledge, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, and others. Eventually, she moved to California in pursuit of adventure, and that's what she found when she met Jerry Garcia and joined the Grateful Dead. We'll talk about all that, her grandmother's delicious biscuits, and why her family calls her the forest gump of rock and roll on this week's Biscuits & Jam. Well, Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay, welcome to Biscuits & Jam.

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay (2:35)

Well, Southern Living. This is amazing that I'm talking to you and very glad to do so.

Sid Evans (2:44)

Well, it is a real honor for me to have you on this podcast. I have been a huge fan of the Grateful Dead for most of my life, and I've been listening to your recordings for about 40 years, so it is very nice to talk to you in person.

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay (3:00)

Well, that lets you know how old I am.

Sid Evans (3:06)

And me.

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay (3:08)

Both, but still, here I am at age 75, and I cannot believe that it's been this long since I was in that band, and here we are, still talking about it. And talking about it is great, and I love it. And so let's go.

Sid Evans (3:29)

Well, I want to start out talking a little bit about your hometown of Florence, Alabama. You grew up in a kind of mythical place for someone who loves music. Tell me a little bit about your hometown.

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay (3:43)

Well, I was born in Florence, Alabama, and this is where I live right now. And by the time I was 12 years old, I knew that I wanted to be a songwriter. I wanted to be a singer. I wanted some musical experience. And it just happened that stars fell on Alabama at that time.

Sid Evans (4:07)

They sure did.

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay (4:08)

They surely did. And when I was 12 years old, wrote my first song that got really any attention. And when I was on a local television talent contest, and I won for writing a song, singing it and playing piano on TV. And that alerted a couple of people in the Muscle Shoals area to send me to Rick Hall Studio, which was above this drug store in Florence, Alabama. And that's where I went into my first studio.

And I got the recording bug that just absolutely took me over. I saw all the wires and all the equipment and everything. And it was not only the singing part of it, it was the electronic part of it. The whole view of the music industry just took my brain and never left. As you can well tell, it never left. And it all started there at Rick Hall Studio in Florence, Alabama. And this was early 60s.