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Donna Jean
Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American singer best known as a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. In addition to the Dead, she performed with the Jerry Garcia Band and the short-lived Heart of Gold Band, all alongside her first husband, Keith Godchaux. She formed the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006. Biography Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a session singer in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, eventually singing with a group called Southern Comfort and appearing as a backup singer on at least two #1 hit songs: " When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge in 1966 and "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley in 1969. Her vocals were featured on other classic recordings by Boz Scaggs and Duane Allman, Cher, Joe Tex, Neil Diamond and many others. She then moved to California and met future fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux, whom she married in 1970. She is the sister of famed ...
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Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and the city of Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area, which encompasses those jurisdictions and all of Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles counties for statistical purposes. The MSA has an estimated population of 181,863 and is currently one of the faster-growing MSAs in Virginia. History European colonization, founding (1671–1771) In the mid-1600s, English colonists were still uncertain of what lay beyond the Allegheny Mountains, whose topography and possession by native inhabitants, Tutelo-speaking tribes, were a barrier to expanded settlement by the Colony of Virginia. Abraham Wood, who commanded Fort Henry on the frontier (now the site of Pe ...
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexually provocative performance style, combined with a mix of influences across color lines during a civil rights movement, transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and Cultural impact of Elvis Presley#Danger to American culture, initial controversy. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi; his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13. He began his music career in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on guitar and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, Backbeat (music), backbeat-driven fusion of country music and ...
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Jeff Mattson
Jeff Mattson (born July 3, 1958) is an American musician. He was raised on Long Island, NY. Mattson is founding member of the jam band, the Zen Tricksters, and guitarist in the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, which features the Grateful Dead’s Donna Jean Godchaux. Mattson was named the permanent lead guitarist for Dark Star Orchestra in November of 2009. A veteran of 30 years on the road, Mattson is a guitar player whose style ranges from rock & roll to blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, folk and psychedelia. Jeff is also a strong original songwriter and his work is prominently featured on five albums, including several pieces co-written with bandmate Donna Jean. He is a co-writer of “Leave Me Out of This,” a track on Phil Lesh and Friends Sony CD, "There and Back Again." Jeff was asked to audition for Phil Lesh & Friends in the fall of 1999 and in October 1999. Jeff and then Zen Trickster keyboard player, Rob Barraco, played three shows with Phil Lesh and Friends ...
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Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own recording facility. They attracted noted artists from across the United States and Great Britain. Over the years, artists who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio included Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Percy Sledge, Willie Nelson, Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, Jimmy Cliff, Cher, George Michael, and The Black Keys. History Founders The four founders of the studio, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, were session musicians at Rick Hall's ''FAME Studios''; they were officially known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section but widely referred to as "The Swampers," who were recognized as having crafted the ...
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Fiddleworms
Fiddleworms is an American rock music group from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The band was originally formed in 1994 by Russell Mefford, Chris Quillen, Scott Kennedy, and Matt Ross. Later, Rob Malone (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers), David MacKay (husband of Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay formerly of the Grateful Dead and who appeared in the first Grammy-winning video, Elephant Parts), Mitch Mann, Clint Bailey and Daniel Ledford, would join the band. The band's latest release is '' See The Light'' 2012. History The band known as Fiddleworms was formed in 1994 and is signed with Heart of Gold Records. The band name is based on folklore from the Muscle Shoals area called "fiddling for worms" in which a young tree sapling by the river is split and a saw is run over it. The vibrations from the saw are said to cause large earthworms to come to the top of the mud, which are called "fiddleworms." Music Fiddleworms play a wide array of original songs as well as several covers. Their m ...
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BoomBox (American Band)
BoomBox is an American rock and electronic duo formed in 2004 by singer-songwriter Zion Godchaux and producer Russ Randolph, both of whom have backgrounds as DJs. Originating in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, BoomBox has released numerous studio albums, starting in 2005 with ''Visions of Backbeat.'' Their second album, ''Downriverelectric,'' was released in June 2010, followed by ''Filling in the Color'' (2014) and'' Bits & Pieces'' (2016). Their newest album, ''Western Voodoo'', was released on October 19, 2018. Their newest single released in June 2017 is titled "''Right Around Two (Feat. Donna Jean)".'' They tour frequently, and have appeared at festivals such as Wakarusa and the Hangout Music Festival. The band is known for not using setlists, instead improvising and changing their set's direction based on the crowd's energy. According to '' NUVO'', "BoomBox plays a unique blend of psychedelic rock and electronica," and also incorporates elements of funk, soul, R&B, and house. O ...
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Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Georges Bizet, Bizet's ''Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Gioachino Rossini, Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville, Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French- ...
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Keith & Donna
''Keith & Donna'' is an album by Keith Godchaux and Donna Jean Godchaux. Their only studio album as a duo leading their own band, it was released in 1975 on the Round Records label. Produced as a vinyl LP, it has not been released on CD. On ''Keith & Donna'', both of the Godchauxs sing lead and backing vocals, and Keith plays various keyboard instruments. The album was recorded and released while they were members of the Grateful Dead, and Jerry Garcia plays guitar on all the songs. On most of the tracks, Denny Seiwell (from Wings) plays drums and Chris Stewart (from Spooky Tooth) plays bass. Recording In an interview with Blair Jackson, Donna Godchaux said, "Almost all of it was recorded at our house in Stinson Beach. Bob Matthews brought in a Neve board and we had our nine-foot Steinway there and we had our whole living room set up as a recording studio for a while. Jerry was just a couple of minutes away, so it was real easy to get together and work on it." In a 2014 inter ...
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Keystone Korner
The Keystone Korner was a jazz club in the North Beach, San Francisco, North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California, which opened in 1970 and continued operation until 1983. Many live recordings were made at the club. In the 1970s, Jessica Williams (musician), Jessica Williams was the house pianist for a number of years. History In 1969, Freddie Herrera bought Dino and Carlo's Bar in the North Beach section of San Francisco. He changed the name to Keystone Korner, a reference to Keystone Cops, because of its proximity to the Central Police Station on the opposite corner of Emery Lane. Keystone Korner began as a topless bar, but quickly changed direction when songwriter Nick Gravenites convinced Herrera that live music would bring in more customers. The strength of the music scene in San Francisco allowed Herrera to book young musicians who would go on to stellar careers. Patrons filled the club to hear new talents such as Saunders and Garcia, Elvin Bishop, Neal Schon, Boz ...
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Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead. As one of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for the band's entire 30-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old & In the Way, the Garcia/David Grisman, Grisman and Garcia/John Kahn, Kahn acoustic duos, Legion of Mary (band), Legion of Mary, and New Riders of the Purple Sage (which he co-founded with John Dawson (musician), John Dawson and David Nelson (musician), David Nelson). He also rel ...
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Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and recorded ten singles that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desiree (song), Desirée", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (which he co-wrote with Marilyn Bergman and performed with Barbra Streisand), "America (Neil Diamond song), America", "Yesterday's Songs", and "Heartlight (song), Heartlight (co-written with Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach). A total of thirty-eight songs by Diamond have reached the top 10 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Adult Contemporary (chart), Adult Contemporary chart, including "Sweet Caroline". He has also acted in films, maki ...
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Joe Tex
Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of funk, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues. His career started after he was signed to King Records (USA), King Records in 1955 following four wins at the Apollo Theater. Between 1955 and 1964, he struggled to find hits, and by the time he finally recorded his first hit, "Hold What You've Got" in 1964, he had recorded 30 previous singles that were deemed failures on the charts. He went on to have four million-selling hits: "Hold What You've Got" (1965), "Skinny Legs and All (song), Skinny Legs and All" (1967), "I Gotcha (Joe Tex song), I Gotcha" (1972), and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" (1977). Tex was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame six times, most recently in 2017. Early life Joe Tex was born Joseph ...
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