Theresa McLaurin Needham (April 17, 1912 – October 16, 1992) was an American tavern owner who became known as "the Godmother of the Chicago blues".
Born Theresa McLaurin in Meridian, Mississippi, she was raised Catholic, married Robert Needham and moved to Chicago in the 1940s.
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, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker and Howlin' Wolf.
[3] In 2010, the Black Ensemble Theater Company in Chicago produced a play based on Theresa's Lounge, written by Joe Plummer and called Nothing But The Blues.