Timothea

Timothea entered the blues world as a performer who bypassed a typical childhood, launching into song while classmates focused on everyday adolescent concerns. Her early years unfolded in Westwego, Louisiana, a demanding riverside community situated close to New Orleans along the Mississippi. The town’s north-south layout features alphabetically ordered avenues running from A to Z, and Timothea frequently visited her aunt’s establishment on Avenue A, where at age ten she performed for tips beside the jukebox. Recognition followed quickly, leading to stage appearances alongside Earl King, Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, and Ernie K. Doe once she reached twelve. In 1966, at fourteen, she issued her debut single, “Teenage Prayer,” through Virgel Records. Club work and an accelerated personal life brought two marriages and two sons before her eighteenth birthday. A relocation to the West Coast interrupted her progress, resulting in an extended recording hiatus that lasted until her 1981 return to Louisiana. Three singles appeared on Grand Marshall Records during that period—“Reach Out” in 1981, “Mardi Gras Party” in 1984, and “No Leftovers” in 1985—all produced by Earl King. Regular employment came through partnerships with Johnny Adams and Walter “Wolfman” Washington. Songwriting opportunities expanded in 1986 when she contributed material to Washington’s Rounder Records album Wolftracks. Additional Timothea–Washington compositions surfaced the following year on Washington’s Out of the Dark. Their three-year collaboration concluded after that release. Timothea next headed to New York City, performing in local venues and occasionally traveling overseas for shows. Her first album, Twisted Funky & Blue, arrived in 1992 with backing from Washington & the Roadmasters and the Po Boys; she handled vocals, songwriting, and production across every track. That same year she resettled in New Orleans as an experienced artist and launched her own imprint, Blue Soul Records, with the 1994 release Goin’ Home to Ma Ma. Subsequent recordings, among them From the School of Hard Knocks, have appeared on Blue Soul, which has also issued Creole Man by guitarist Amedee Frederick and Sweet and Tender Abuses by Diane Lotny. Andy Griggs of Real Blues magazine has described her as “the undiscovered Queen of New Orleans music,” while others refer to her as the “New Orleans Siren.” Remaining faithful to the tradition, she draws on lived experience that lends authenticity to her performances and recordings. Audiences fill New Orleans clubs to see her, and she has appeared on television both locally and internationally.