Theresa McLaurin Needham (April 17, 1912 - October 16, 1992) was an American tavern owner who became known as "the Godmother of the Chicago blues". She was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. Born Theresa McLaurin in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

, she was raised Catholic, married Robert Needham and moved to Chicago in the 1940s. In December 1949 she opened a basement club, Theresa's Lounge (sometimes also called T’s Basement), in an apartment building on South Indiana Avenue on the

South Side of Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and we ...

. This attracted a predominantly black audience from the surrounding neighbourhood, but its appeal reached global proportions as a result of the calibre of music offered. It featured live entertainment with Junior Wells and Buddy Guy in the house band, and attracted touring musicians such as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers,

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

, Little Walter,

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

, Earl Hooker and Howlin' Wolf. The club relocated in 1983 when the landlord refused to renew the lease, and closed permanently in 1986. Theresa Needham died in Chicago in 1992. In 2010 The Black Ensemble theater in Chicago produced a play based on Theresa's Lounge written by Joe Plummer called "Nothing But The Blues."

External links

Tribute page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Needham, Theresa 1912 births 1992 deaths Drinking establishment owners 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people Businesspeople from Chicago 20th-century American businesspeople African-American Catholics