NORWICH – The Chenango County Blues Association begins its free summer concert series Thursday night with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band.

The free concerts, held in West Side Park from 7 to 9 p.m., are co-sponsored by NBT Bank and Preferred Mutual. In case of rain, the show will be held inside the Council of the Arts Theater, 27 W. Main St.

Born in Muscle Shoals, Ala., Donna Jean Godchaux was a vocalist at both Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and Fame Studios, home of the legendary “Muscle Shoals Sound,” on records like Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,” and Boz Scagg’s eponymous first solo album. She moved to San Francisco, married Keith Godchaux, and spent the 1970s as a vocalist in the Grateful Dead as well as the Jerry Garcia Band.

 After life with the Dead, she and Keith created the Heart of Gold Band with drummer Greg Anton and guitarist Steve Kimock. Following various side trips, she resumed serious focus on her singing in the ‘90s, recording a new Heart of Gold Band album, At the Table, and singing with Phil & Friends and her own Donna Jean Band.