KATHRYN MARIE "KATHI" MCDONALD

1948 - 2012

Kathryn "Kathi" Marie McDonald was born September 25, 1948, to Urban "Mick" and Mary McDonald in Anacortes, Washington.

Kathi graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1966.

She is survived by her mother, Mary, of Mount Vernon; daughter Erin Moore, Monroe, Washington; grandchildren Taylah, Jordan, Gabriel and Veronica Moore, also of Monroe; brother Mike McDonald and his girlfriend Robin Burger of Mount Vernon; several aunts, including her godmother "Teta" Catherine and special aunt "Teta" Fran; uncles and many loving cousins in Anacortes, Washington.

Kathi left us on 3 October 2012. She is loved and will be greatly missed by family, friends, musical colleagues and fans alike. She touched lives, hearts, ears and souls all across the world with her giant talent, wit and charm. As Sam Andrew from the band Big Brother and the Holding Company put it, "Kathi was one of the funniest women who ever lived, and she made life more interesting and spicy for whoever was lucky enough to be around her."

Kathi's contribution to the world of music was unquestioned by those who knew her. Her long and impressive curriculum vitae included an early stint as an Ikette with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue and she recorded the Come Together album with them. Kathi toured with Leon Russell and was a member of his Shelter people entourage as a singer with, for example, Claudia Lennear.

Kathi then went on to sing on long playing records such as Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," "Be a Brother" and "How Hard It Is" by Big Brother and the Holding Company, as well as their "Can't Go Home Again." Kathi also sang on the Rolling Stones song "All Down The Line" from the "Exile On Main Street" album.

Kathi made many recordings with artists as diverse as Freddie King, Rita Coolidge, Nils Lofgren, Dave Mason and Delaney & Bonnie, but she is probably best known for her twenty years of singing and playing with Long John Baldry.

Kathi McDonald's 1974 debut solo album "Insane Asylum" included performances by Pete Sears, Aynsley Dunbar, Neal Schon, Ronnie Montrose, Papa John Creech, Sly Stone and the Pointer Sisters. Kathi made another solo album "Save Your Breath" in 1994 and then in 1999 she recorded "Above and Beyond." The eponymous "Kathi McDonald" followed in 2003.

In the last years of her life, Kathi worked with Nick Vigarino, and later with Rich Kirch in her band Kathi McDonald & Friends with whom she made "On With The Show" in 2010. Kathi performed at several events and on several albums with the Seattle Women In Rhythm and Blues, and later with help by her friend and manager Glenn Herskowitz, Kathi performed with RocknWomen. Kathi often championed such causes as Food Banks, Services for Domestic Violence Victims and many benefits for her fellow musicians.
"I have played alongside some great singers but have never experienced anyone with a voice like that," noted Canadian blues musician Brian Blain, speaking for many others, in a remembrance of Kathi McDonald. "I think I heard somewhere that she was Etta James' favorite singer. She was many singers' favorite singer."

Kathi McDonald's funeral was held at Hawthorne Funeral Home in Mount Vernon.

A memorial concert will be held in Seattle at the Highway 99 Blues Club on 21 October, and there will also be a celebration in San Rafael, California, at George's Night Club on 8 December 2012.