An interview with former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay is featured on the latest episode of JamBase partner Osiris Media Network’s Brokedown Podcast. Donna Jean discusses her time in the Dead, a new remix of a Donna Jean & the Tricksters track and more with host Jonathan Hart.
Godchaux-Mackay recalls how she met the Zen Tricksters at the Gathering Of The Vibes Festival. Donna Jean & The Tricksters recently reworked the original track “Shelter.” The vocalist teamed with Jeff Mattson, her husband David MacKay and other musicians to create “Shelter (Muscle Shoals Remix).” The vocalist explains how happy she is with the new version of the song.
The talk then turns to Donna Jean’s roots as a session musician in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. “I ended up in front of a microphone very naturally, it just happened. I wanted to sing … so I did,” Godchaux-MacKay explains. She then recalls the experience of introducing her husband at the time, Keith Godchaux, to Jerry Garcia as “the new keyboardist of the Grateful Dead.”
Donna Jean goes on to talk about why she declined the band’s offer to join at first before finally coming aboard in 1972. Hart then asks Godchaux-MacKay about her 1975 album, Keith & Donna. Additional topics covered include Donna Jean’s distaste for the microphones used as part of the “Wall Of Sound,” changes to the Dead’s harmonies in 1976 and staying creative during the pandemic. Jonathan spins tracks from throughout Donna Jean’s career to end the episode.
Stream Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay’s appearance on Brokedown Podcast below:
https://brokedown-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/090
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/donna-jean-godchaux-mckay/id1215027160?i=1000514988619
!function ($) {
window.jb_populate_livestreams_promo = function( $element ) {
let args = $element.attr( ‘data-args’ );
// set up the AJAX post data
var data = {
‘action’: ‘jb_get_livestreams_promo’,
‘args’: args,
‘wpnonce’: $( ‘#jb_livestreams_promo_nonce’ ).val(),
};
console.log( ‘—— jb_populate_livestreams_promo data —–‘ );
console.log( data );
// make the AJAX $_POSTcall
$.ajax({
type: “POST”,
url: ajaxurl,
data: data,
success: function( response ){
if ( true == response.success ){
$element.html(response.data).slideDown(420, function(){
jbSetStreamLocalTimes();
});
// trigger Cloudinary
var evt = window.document.createEvent(‘UIEvents’);
evt.initUIEvent(‘resize’, true, false, window, 0);
window.dispatchEvent(evt);
return;
}else{
console.log(“jb_populate_livestreams_promo – UNSUCCESSFUL”);
console.log(response);
return;
}
},
error: function( response ){
console.log(“jb_populate_livestreams_promo – ERROR”);
console.log(response);
return;
}
});
};
$(function(){
$(‘#livestreams-promo-container’).each( function(){
if( ! jb_livestreams_promo_killswitch ){
jb_populate_livestreams_promo( $(this) );
}else{
$(this).remove();
}
});
});
}(window.jQuery);
.fb-page.fb_iframe_widget{
width:100%!important;
}
.jb-fb-like-box{
border-top: 1px solid #DAE1E8;
border-bottom: 1px solid #DAE1E8;
padding:15px 0;
margin: 15px 0;
text-align:center;
}
.jb-fb-like-box h3{
margin: 0 0 15px;
}
.jb-fb-like-box blockquote{
border:none;
margin-top: 15px;
}
.single-article-simplified .article-content .jb-fb-like-box:last-child{
border-bottom:none;
padding-bottom: 0;
}
