Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald (September 25, 1948 – October 3, 2012) was an American blues and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer and songwriter. As a teenager she sang with different bands around the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

before she was discovered by

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

. She sang as an Ikette with

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

and eventually replaced Janis Joplin as the front woman of

Big Brother and Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic rock, psychedelic San Francisco Sound, music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messeng ...

. McDonald became a background vocalist for various artists, including Leon Russell, Joe Cocker,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Most ...

, and

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

. She also recorded as a solo artist and fronted her own band Kathi McDonald & Friends.

Biography

McDonald was born in

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. McDonald began singing at an early age. The first song she fully learned was " Goodnight Irene" by Huddie Leadbetter and at age two she would sing all five verses from her crib. McDonald performed professionally for the first time around Seattle when she was 12 years old. Her musical influences were

Gail Harris Gail Harris (born 16 December 1964) is a British-born model, actress, adult-magazine publisher and adult-industry entrepreneur. Life and career Modelling Before her film-industry work, Gail Thackray was a Page 3 girl (glamour model) for the ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

. From 1963 to 1968, McDonald was a vocalist in several bands that played Bellingham, Anacortes,

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, Oak Harbor and other

venues. McDonald sang with regional bands such as The Accents or Bellingham Accents (1963–1965), The Checkers (1964–1965), The Unusuals (1965–1967), and Fat Jack (1966–1968). McDonald was 17 years old when "Babe, It's Me" peaked at number-one on the Top 50 at Bellingham's rock radio station

KPUG KPUG (1170 AM) is a sports radio station located and licensed in Bellingham, Washington, transmitting from an antenna located off Sunset Drive. KPUG is operated by the Cascade Radio Group, owned by Saga Communications. The majority of local sport ...

in early April 1966. The song remained at the top of the chart for four to five weeks. The single, released on the Panorama label, was the first release by The Unusuals (formerly The Bellingham Accents) and it featured vocals by McDonald and Laurie Vitt who wrote the song and was a founding member of the band. Shortly thereafter, with McDonald as soloist, the Unusuals released their second single "Summer is Over" and, while it received airplay on local radio, it was a lesser hit in the Pacific Northwest. Kathi & The Unusuals toured with Dewey Martin (pseudonym Sir Raleigh and previously Sir Raleigh and the Cupons). While living in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, McDonald developed strong

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

music connections and promoter

Chet Helms Chester Leo "Chet" Helms (August 2, 1942 – June 25, 2005), often called the father of San Francisco's 1967 " Summer of Love," was a music promoter and a counterculture figure in San Francisco during its hippie period in the mid- to-late 196 ...

invited her to audition for

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After som ...

in 1966. He also invited a then-unknown Janis Joplin from Austin, Texas. Joplin arrived in San Francisco before McDonald and was hired to front the band. McDonald held some resentment for losing the job to Joplin, who people often compared her voice to, she stated: "I used to hate doing Janis songs...It really was annoying for a lot of years, but I finally made my peace with it. I read some books about her and I realized what a pathetic life she had, with all kinds of screwups. It was terrible. The poor thing. Anything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. I thought it was just one big freakin' party, but it wasn't. She had a lot of heartbreak." McDonald relocated to San Francisco at the age of 19. At an Ike & Tina Turner concert at promoter Bill Graham's Carousel Ballroom (

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Str ...

) in San Francisco, McDonald caught the attention of bandleader

when she was singing along to " River Deep, Mountain High". She was pregnant at the time and he invited her to record as an Ikette in the studio. As an Ikette, she sang on their album ''Come Together'' (1970). She then recorded with

after Joplin split with the band. Around this time, McDonald became one of Leon Russell's Shelter People . She sang on Russell's album ''

Leon Russell And The Shelter People ''Leon Russell and the Shelter People'' is the second solo album by the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell. Released in 1971, it peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 200 in the United States. The album has gold certificat ...

'' (1971). McDonald also contributed backing vocals to four tracks that appear on

album ''

Exile on Main Street ''Exile on Main St.'' is the 10th British and 12th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 12 May 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. Recording began in 1969 in England during sessions for '' Sticky Fingers'' ...

'' (1972), including the hit single "

Tumbling Dice "Tumbling Dice" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, the song has a blues, boogie-woogie rhythm that scholars and musicians have noted for its ...

". During this period, she sang with various artists, including

, Joe Cocker,

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and the ...

, and

Delaney & Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg ...

. In 1973, she recorded her debut solo album, ''

Insane Asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

'', for Capitol Records. The album was co-produced by David Briggs and

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

. Sears was also her musical arranger and played keyboards and bass, as well as writing several of the album's songs with McDonald. The album featured musicians such as

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

John Cipollina John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 – May 29, 1989) was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. After leaving Quicksilver he formed the ban ...

and

Neal Schon Neal ( Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

on guitar, Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Boots Hughston on horns. McDonald sang a cover of Willie Dixon's "Insane Asylum" with

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

. The album was released in 1974 and reached #156 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

was McDonald's opening act when she performed at The Whisky in May 1974. In 1976, McDonald met blues singer

and they collaborated until his death in 2005. She toured with him and they enjoyed success in Australia where their duet "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers, whose version was also produced by Spector and is cited by some music critics as ...

" reached #2 in 1980. Twenty years after her debut, she released her sophomore album, ''Save Your Breath'', in 1994. McDonald reunited with Big Brother and the Holding Company in California for a concert on New Year's Eve, 1997. Her next album, ''Above and Beyond'', was released in 1999. It featured

Lee Oskar Lee Oskar (born 24 March 1948) is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which was formed by Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. H ...

on harmonica and

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, a ...

on keyboards. In later years, McDonald contributed to the Seattle Women in Rhythm and Blues project. McDonald eventually fronted her own band and continued to perform regionally. In February 2009, she performed at the opening gala for the San Francisco Museum of Performance & Design along with

Sam Andrew Sam Houston Andrew III (December 18, 1941 – February 12, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, artist and founding member and guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company. During his career as musician and composer ...

, welcoming in a new exhibition dedicated to the art and music of San Francisco of the 1965-1975 era. McDonald struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

and drug abuse. She died at the age of 64 in Seattle, Washington, on October 3, 2012. She was survived by a daughter and four grandchildren.

Accolades

McDonald was inducted into the Washington Blues Society's Hall of Fame in 1999.

Discography

Albums

* 1974: ''

'' ( Capitol Records) – reached #156 on the ''Billboard'' 200 * 1994: ''Save Your Breath'' (Hypertension Music) * 1999: ''Above & Beyond'' (Merrimack Records) *2004: ''Kathi McDonald'' *2010: Kathi McDonald & Friends – ''On With The Show'' * 2011: Kathi McDonald & Rich Kirch – ''Nothin' But Trouble'' (TearDrop Records) *2016: ''On With The Show'' (Marin Records)

Singles

*1966: The Unusuals – "Babe, It's Me" *1966: The Unusuals – "Summer Is Over" *1974: Kathi McDonald – "Freak Lover" / "Bogart To Bowie" (Capitol 3835) * 1974: Kathi McDonald – "Bogart To Bowie" / " (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" (Capitol 3880) * 1974: Kathi McDonald – "Somethin' Else" / "Threw My Love Away" (Capitol 2C 008–81670) * 1979: Long John Baldry & Kathi McDonald – "

" (EMI America 8018) - AUS #2 * 1986: Long John Baldry with Kathi McDonald – "Ain't That Peculiar" (Music Line MLS 004)

Backing vocal credits

* 1970:

and

The Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as ...

– ''Come Together'' (uncredited) *1970:

Big Brother And The Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After som ...

– '' Be a Brother'' * 1971:

– ''Getting Ready'' * 1971: Leon Russell – ''

'' * 1971:

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

– ''Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra And Chorus'' * 1971:

Don Nix Don Nix (born September 27, 1941, Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an American songwriter, composer, arranger, musician, and author. Although cited as being "one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock", he is a key figure in ...

– ''Living By The Days'' * 1971: Big Brother And The Holding Company – ''

How Hard It Is ''How Hard It Is'' is the fourth and final studio album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in August 1971. The track "Buried Alive in the Blues" was originally written by guest singer Nick Gravenites for Janis Joplin who died before ...

'' * 1971:

– ''

To Bonnie from Delaney ''To Bonnie from Delaney'' is the fourth album by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. It was their first studio album for the Atco/Atlantic Records, Atlantic label (catalog no. SD 33-341), and their fourth album overall. Coincidentally, Atco/Atlantic's ...

'' (uncredited) * 1971:

– ''

'' (uncredited) * 1972: Tony Kelly – ''Bring Me Back'' * 1972: Terry Dolan – ''Terry Dolan'' * 1972:

– ''Exile On Main St.'' * 1972: Grin – ''All Out'' * 1973:

Betty Davis Betty Davis (born Betty Gray Mabry; July 26, 1944 – February 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually-oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter Mile ...

– ''Betty Davis'' * 1974: "Rock 'N' Roll Preacher" and "Galilee" on ''Chuck Girard'' by

Chuck Girard Chuck Girard (born on August 27, 1943) is a pioneer of Contemporary Christian music. He moved to Santa Rosa, California in his young teens and was a member of the Castells and later the surf-rock band The Hondells. In 1970 he was a founding membe ...

* 1976: "Stranger In A Strange Land" on ''Best Of Leon'' by Leon Russell * 1976: "Razooli" on ''Diga'' by Diga Rhythm Band * 1978:

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

– ''Solid Silver'' * 1979:

& Grin – ''Nils Lofgren & Grin'' * 1979:

– ''Baldry's Out!'' * 1983: "Ready To Make Up" and "Don't Give Me The Once Over" on ''Girls Night Out'' by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

* 1986: Quicksilver – ''Peace By Piece'' * 1987: Long John Baldry – '' Long John Baldry & Friends'' * 1988: Long John Baldry – ''A Touch Of The Blues'' *1991: Long John Baldry – '' It Still Ain't Easy'' * 1995: Novato Frank Band – ''Rock 'N' Roll Heaven'' * 1995: John Lee Sanders – ''World Blue'' * 1996: Long John Baldry – ''Right To Sing The Blues'' *1997: Big Brother And The Holding Company – ''Can't Go Home Again'' * 2001: Long John Baldry – ''

Remembering Leadbelly ''Remembering Leadbelly'' is the final studio album Long John Baldry completed in his lifetime. The album serves as a tribute to Baldry's musical hero Lead Belly with songs he either wrote or is known for. The album was released on November 13, ...

'' *2009: Long John Baldry – '' Live – Iowa State University''

References

External links

Official websiteKathi Mcdonald
on AllMusic
Catalog of Kathi McDonald's earliest work with The Unusuals
The three recordings, featuring Kathi's singing, are from 1965 to 1966. At that time, she was the female vocalist for The Unusuals, a regionally popular Pacific Northwest band. Personal recordings and photos at this site were provided by, and the channel was approved by, Laurie Vitt, songwriter, band member affiliated with Kathi McDonald in her formative years, and a founding member of The Unusuals. Included in this collection is the #1 regional hit "Babe, It's Me" (vocals by McDonald and Vitt) and "Summer is Over" (Kathi lead vocalist). {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Kathi 1948 births 2012 deaths People from Anacortes, Washington American blues singers American rock singers Big Brother and the Holding Company members Musicians from Seattle Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) Ike & Tina Turner members Capitol Records artists Singers from San Francisco American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California