Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay Is Grateful

Biscuits & Jam

Meredith Corporation

Food, Music, Music Interviews, Arts

4.6 • 640 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this week’s episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay, a singer who’s lent her voice to some of the most well known music of the last 60 years. She got her start as a session singer when just a teenager in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and her voice helped songs from Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley become #1 hits. Eventually, she headed to California and made the transition from the studio to live performance after befriending Jerry Garcia and joining the Grateful Dead. She’s also got a love of both Southern and Californian cuisines and, of course, her grandmother’s delicious biscuits. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by: Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer Jeremiah McVay - Script Editor Jennifer Del Sole - Director, Audio Growth Strategy & Operations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Biscuits and Jam from Southern Living.
0:11.2	I'm Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living magazine.
0:15.2	And I have a confession for you all.
0:17.1	I've been a fan of the Grateful Dead since I was in high school.
0:20.4	And today I'm very excited to be
0:22.5	talking with someone who performed with that band for some of their most formative years.
0:27.7	Donna Jean Godshow McKay got her start as a session singer when she was just a teenager in Muscle Shoals,
0:33.9	Alabama, and her voice appeared on iconic hits by Percy Sledge, Elvis Presley,
0:40.7	Neil Diamond, and others. Eventually, she moved to California in pursuit of adventure,
0:46.4	and that's what she found when she met Jerry Garcia and joined the Grateful Dead.
0:51.4	We'll talk about all that, her grandmother's delicious biscuits, and why her
0:55.6	family calls her the forest gump of rock and roll on this week's Biscuits and Jam.
1:05.4	Well, Donna Jean Godchow McKay, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
1:09.9	Well, Southern Living, this is amazing that I'm talking to you and very glad to do so.
1:18.6	Well, it is a real honor for me to have you on this podcast.
1:22.9	I have been a huge fan of the Grateful Dead for most of my life, and I've been listening to your
1:29.1	recordings for about 40 years, so it is very nice to talk to you in person.
1:34.8	Well, that lets you know how old I am.
1:40.3	And me.
1:42.9	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.
1:54.8	And here we are still talking about it.
1:57.4	And talking about it is great, and I love it.
	...

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