She was Elvis’ backup singer on Suspicious Minds and a cherished member of the rock band the Grateful Dead.
Now, singer Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay has passed away at a Nashville hospital. She was 78.

The only woman to have graced Grateful Dead
The music world is mourning the loss of Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, the only woman ever to hold a spot in the legendary traveling circus known as the Grateful Dead.

According to several sources, she passed away Sunday at Alive Hospice in Nashville after a long fight with cancer. She was 78.

“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all who knew her feel this loss deeply,” her family said in a statement, asking for privacy during this difficult time.
They closed with the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter: “May the four winds blow her safely home.”