Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald (September 25, 1948 – October 3, 2012) was an American blues and rock singer and songwriter.
Kathi McDonald's voice was so riveting, people took notice even when she wasn’t the main attraction. In fact, the strength of her voice is what landed the vocalist her first big professional gig when she was attending a concert and joined in as part of the audience. McDonald's powerful voice drew Ike Turner's notice in a club called the Winterland, and he invited the aspiring singer to his and Tina Turner's next rehearsal. McDonald had snagged a spot in the Ikettes, the Turners' backing group, without even trying. It was a heady and magical beginning for someone who never had any formal lessons.
McDonald was born in Anacortes, Washington. She 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 and Tina Turner. At the age of 19 she set off for San Francisco and its burgeoning musical climate, where she met the Turners and, through her association with them, took the first step on a career path that would span more than three decades.
While living in Seattle, McDonald developed strong San Francisco music connections and promoter Chet Helms invited her to audition for Big Brother and the Holding Company 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 relocated to San Francisco at the age of 19. At an Ike & Tina Turner concert at promoter Bill Graham's Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco, McDonald caught the attention of bandleader Ike Turner 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 Big Brother and the Holding Company after Joplin split with the band.
Around this time, McDonald became one of Leon Russell's Shelter People and joined him on the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour with Joe Cocker. Her session work included recordings for such artists as the Rolling Stones, Nils Lofgren, Rita Coolidge, Delaney & Bonnie, and Dave Mason. Her work for other musical artists totals up to appearances on almost 150 albums, more than six dozen of which achieved gold status.
In 1976, McDonald met blues singer Long John Baldry 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'" 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 on harmonica and Brian Auger on keyboards.
She was inducted into the Washington Blues Society's Hall of Fame in 1999 and In later years she contributed to the Seattle Women in Rhythm and Blues project. McDonald eventually fronted her own band and continued to perform regionally. Following her rash of success, Kathi would go on to make two more records: the eponymous Kathi McDonald in 2003 and On with the Show, by Kathi McDonald & Friends, in 2010. A year earlier she performed at the opening gala for the San Francisco Museum of Performance & Design along with Sam Andrew, welcoming in a new exhibition dedicated to the art and music of San Francisco of the 1965-1975 era.
McDonald who had a continual struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse died at the age of 64 in Seattle, Washington on October 3, 2012. According to Toronto Blues Diary, McDonald slipped into a coma and never woke up again. No cause of death has been revealed.
(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic)