His career covered nearly the entire spectrum of rhythm-and-blues music, from doo-wop to funk. His songs were recorded by the Rolling Stones, Booker T and the MGs, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Steppenwolf, and the J Geils Band.
His father was a Baptist minister who died when Don was 8. His mother moved the family to Washington DC, where he formed a gospel group, the Cherry Keys, with his four siblings. He took "Don Covay" as a pen name when he started writing music.
Son of Helen Zimmerman Randolph.
Survived by his four children: Wendy Covay, Wanda Richardson, Ursula Covay Parkes, and Antonio Covay, three brothers: Eddie, Thomas, and Leroy Randolph, and five grandchildren. His son Donald, Jr. predeceased.