| Sources |
- [S3325] California Birth Index, 1905 - 1995, 12 October 2013; Terence Wedge McQuiston.
State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
- [S3326] Times-Picayune, Terence 'Ready Teddy' McQuiston, blues singer and longtime WWOZ deejay, has died; obituary; 19 September 2013; 12 October 2013.
By Keith Spera, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on September 19, 2013 at 6:44 PM,
Terence “Ready Teddy” McQuiston, a blues singer, entertainer, promoter and longtime WWOZ-FM deejay, died Thursday, Sept. 19 at Trinity Neurological Rehabilitation Center in Slidell of complications from a 2011 accident that left him paralyzed. He was 65.
A native of California, he became a fixture on, and enthusiastic booster of, the local blues scene. He led various bands, including the Swamp Daddys. He often appeared onstage with his longtime friend Little Richard -- who released a song called "Ready Teddy" in 1956 -- performing his signature handstand.
For many years, Mr. McQuiston was among the most distinctive voices and personalities on WWOZ. Between the classic blues and R&B records he favored, he regaled listeners with vivid catchphrases. He described himself as "hanging" like a “spider on the wall,” “ice cubes in your refrigerator” and “wet clothes on a clothes line.”
In 1996, he was suspended from his voluntary position at WWOZ after being accused of accepting payola in return for playing certain records and plugging certain business on the air. He was eventually cleared of the allegations, but his return was further delayed because of an investigation into the source of threatening letters received by Mr. McQuiston and the station.
Even after he no longer appeared on local airwaves, he continued to promote veteran and up-and-coming artists. Elisandrya "Gypsy Elise" DeSade-Way, a singer whose band, Gypsy Elise & the Royal Blues, performs six days a week at My Bar on Bourbon Street, credits Mr. McQuiston with encouraging her to quit her job as a chef and become a full-time singer. "I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for him saying, 'You can do it,'" she said. "He made it seem so simple.
She wrote a song called "The Chair Man of the Blues" in honor of Mr. McQuiston and his penchant for performing handstands on chairs, and recruited other musicians to record it.
On Memorial Day 2011, Mr. McQuiston badly injured himself in a fall that broke his neck and severed his spinal cord. He was paralyzed from the neck down. He spent the last two years of his life in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Friends and fellow musicians organized benefits to help defray his medical expenses. On the third Thursday of every month, DeSade-Way and her husband, keyboardist Ryan Way, traveled to Slidell to perform for Mr. McQuiston at Trinity. They were due to visit him on Sept. 21, but when they called and spoke to a nurse at Trinity that morning, they were told Mr. McQuiston's condition had worsened. He died later that morning.
Survivors include his mother, Virginia McQuiston; three brothers, Bill, Tim and David; a sister, Patty; a daughter, Michelle, and a son, Richard "Rafi" Solomon Burke, named for Little Richard and Solomon Burke.
DeSade-Way is organizing a second-line to take place along the Frenchmen Street entertainment district on Wednesday, Sept. 25, starting at 6 p.m. and ending near Cafe Negril.
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1947 - 2013 (65 years)
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