1. Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald was an American blues and rock singer and songwriter.
25 Facts About Kathi McDonald
1. 2.
Kathi McDonald was born in Anacortes, Washington, on September 25,1948.
3.
Kathi McDonald performed professionally for the first time around Seattle when she was 12 years old.
4.
From 1963 to 1968, Kathi McDonald was a vocalist in several bands that played Bellingham, Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor and other Pacific Northwest venues.
5.
Kathi McDonald sang with regional bands such as The Accents or Bellingham Accents, The Checkers, The Unusuals, and Fat Jack.
6.
The single, released on the Panorama label, was the first release by The Unusuals and it featured vocals by Kathi McDonald and Laurie Vitt who wrote the song and was a founding member of the band.
7.
Shortly thereafter, with Kathi 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.
8.
Kathi McDonald invited a then-unknown Janis Joplin from Austin, Texas.
9.
Joplin arrived in San Francisco before Kathi McDonald and was hired to front the band.
10.
Kathi McDonald held some resentment for losing the job to Joplin, who people often compared her voice to, she stated:.
11.
Kathi McDonald relocated to San Francisco at the age of 19.
12.
Kathi McDonald was pregnant at the time and he invited her to record as an Ikette in the studio.
13.
Kathi McDonald then recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company after Joplin split with the band.
14.
Around this time, Kathi McDonald became one of Leon Russell's Shelter People.
15.
Kathi McDonald sang on Russell's album Leon Russell And The Shelter People.
16.
Kathi McDonald contributed backing vocals to four tracks that appear on The Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street, including the hit single "Tumbling Dice".
17.
Kathi McDonald sang a cover of Willie Dixon's "Insane Asylum" with Sly Stone.
18.
Rufus was Kathi McDonald's opening act when she performed at The Whisky in May 1974.
19.
In 1976, Kathi McDonald met blues singer Long John Baldry and they collaborated until his death in 2005.
20.
Kathi McDonald reunited with Big Brother and the Holding Company in California for a concert on New Year's Eve, 1997.
21.
In later years, Kathi McDonald contributed to the Seattle Women in Rhythm and Blues project.
22.
Kathi McDonald eventually fronted her own band and continued to perform regionally.
23.
Kathi McDonald died at the age of 64 in Seattle, Washington, on October 3,2012.
24.
Kathi McDonald was survived by a daughter and four grandchildren.
25.
Kathi McDonald was inducted into the Washington Blues Society's Hall of Fame in 1999.