Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay has died aged 78

A statement from Godchaux-MacKay's representative read: "She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss.

"The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, 'May the four winds blow her safely home.'"

Born in Alabama, Donna began her career as a session singer and performed backing vocals on the No.1 hits When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds - as well as on records by Cher, Neil Diamond and Dionne Warwick.

She recalled to AL.com in 2016: "I was singing from pretty much as soon as I could talk. I remember very distinctly when I was six years old, I knew I was going to be a singer and I would sit out on my back porch and sing to the top of my lungs every day."

She then moved to California and married keyboard player Keith Godchaux, with the pair going on the join the Grateful Dead together.

Donna remained in the band - fronted by the late Jerry Garcia - for seven years and contributed to six albums, including Wake of the Flood and From the Mars Hotel.

She said of playing with the Grateful Dead: "It was great fun. I loved singing with those guys and we had an absolute blast."

Donna and Keith decided to leave the group in 1979 and formed the Heart of Gold Band the following year, although it was tragically short-lived as Keith passed away at the age of 32 following a car accident in California.

The singer then married bassist David MacKay - a member of the band Fiddleworms - in 1981 and the pair played together in her own Donna Jean Godchaux Band.

Godchaux-MacKay was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

Donna is survived by her husband David and their son Kinsman, as well as her son Zion 'Rock' Godchaux from her first marriage.