Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald (September 25, 1948 – October 3, 2012)
Early life
McDonald was born in Anacortes, Washington, on September 25, 1948.
McDonald began singing at an early age. The first song she fully learned was "
Goodnight Irene" by
Lead Belly 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.
Early career
From 1963 to 1968, McDonald was a vocalist in several bands that played Bellingham, Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor and other Pacific Northwest 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 #1 on Bellingham's Top 40 radio station KPUG in early April 1966. The song remained at the top of the chart for four to five weeks.[A recollection of Kirk Wilde, KPUG's music director in 1966 and popular 1960's "personality" disc jockey in Bellingham, WA.] 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).
Big Brother and the Holding Company
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 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."
Later works
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) 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
The Ikettes in the studio.
As an
The Ikettes, 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
.
In 1973, she recorded her debut solo album, Insane Asylum, for Capitol Records. The album was co-produced by David Briggs and Pete Sears. 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, John Cipollina and Neal Schon on guitar, Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Boots Hughston on horns. McDonald sang a cover of Willie Dixon's "Insane Asylum" with Sly Stone.
In 1976, McDonald met blues singer Long John Baldry and they collaborated until his death in 2005.
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.
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, welcoming in a new exhibition dedicated to the art and music of San Francisco of the 1965-1975 era.
Death
McDonald struggled with
alcoholism and
Substance abuse.
She died at the age of 64 in Seattle, Washington, on October 3, 2012.
She was survived by her daughter.
Influences
Her musical influences were Gail Harris and
Tina Turner.
Accolades
McDonald was inducted into the Washington Blues Society's Hall of Fame in 1999.
Discography
Albums
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1974: Insane Asylum (Capitol Records) – reached #156 on the Billboard 200
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1994: Save Your Breath (Hypertension Music)
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1999: Above & Beyond (Merrimack Records)
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2004: Kathi McDonald
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2010: Kathi McDonald & Friends – On With The Show
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2011: Kathi McDonald & Rich Kirch – Nothin' But Trouble (TearDrop Records)
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2016: On With The Show (Marin Records)
Singles
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1966: The Unusuals – "Babe, It's Me"
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1966: The Unusuals – "Summer Is Over"
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1974: Kathi McDonald – "Freak Lover" / "Bogart To Bowie" (Capitol 3835)
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1974: Kathi McDonald – "Bogart To Bowie" / "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" (Capitol 3880)
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1974: Kathi McDonald – "Somethin' Else" / "Threw My Love Away" (Capitol 2C 008–81670)
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1979: Long John Baldry & Kathi McDonald – "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (EMI America 8018) - AUS #2
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1986: Long John Baldry with Kathi McDonald – "Ain't That Peculiar" (Music Line MLS 004)
Backing vocal credits
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1970: Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes – Come Together (uncredited)
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1970: Big Brother And The Holding Company – Be a Brother
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1971: Freddie King – Getting Ready
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1971: Leon Russell – Leon Russell And The Shelter People
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1971: Nigel Olsson – Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra And Chorus
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1971: Don Nix – Living By The Days
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1971: Big Brother And The Holding Company – How Hard It Is
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1971: Delaney & Bonnie – To Bonnie from Delaney (uncredited)
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1971: Rita Coolidge – Rita Coolidge (uncredited)
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1972: Tony Kelly – Bring Me Back
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1972: Terry Dolan – Terry Dolan
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1972: The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St.
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1972: Grin – All Out
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1973: Betty Davis – Betty Davis
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1974: "Rock 'N' Roll Preacher" and "Galilee" on Chuck Girard by Chuck Girard
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1976: "Stranger In A Strange Land" on Best Of Leon by Leon Russell
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1976: "Razooli" on Diga by Diga Rhythm Band
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1978: Quicksilver Messenger Service – Solid Silver
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1979: Nils Lofgren & Grin – Nils Lofgren & Grin
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1979: Long John Baldry – Baldry's Out!
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1983: "Ready To Make Up" and "Don't Give Me The Once Over" on Girls Night Out by Toronto
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1986: Quicksilver – Peace By Piece
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1987: Long John Baldry – Long John Baldry & Friends
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1988: Long John Baldry – A Touch Of The Blues
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1991: Long John Baldry – It Still Ain't Easy
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1995: Novato Frank Band – Rock 'N' Roll Heaven
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1995: John Lee Sanders – World Blue
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1996: Long John Baldry – Right To Sing The Blues
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1997: Big Brother And The Holding Company – Can't Go Home Again
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2001: Long John Baldry – Remembering Leadbelly
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2009: Long John Baldry – Live – Iowa State University
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2012: Colin Kadey - A Brief Glimpse of Paradise
External links
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).
