Guitarist and vocalist Walter “Wolfman” Washington died on December 22, 2022, at Passages Hospice. He had just turned 79 on December 20.

With Washington’s passing all but a few of the direct links to the days when New Orleans R&B ruled the world have passed.

Washington’s discography includes numerous recordings along with his crucial work with Johnny Adams, Eddie Bo, Lee Dorsey and others. His last album, My Future Is My Past, was an intimate collection of acoustic performances showcasing Washington’s sensitive, emotional baritone and plaintive falsetto. The recording, produced by Galactic’s Ben Ellman and featuring a gallery of New Orleans musicians including Irma Thomas, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary, Stanton Moore, James Singleton and David Torkanowsky, brought Washington to the attention of a new generation of fans.

Photo by Gus Bennett

In 2018 Walter “Wolfman” Washington was honored by OffBeat Magazine with a Lifetime Achievement in Music. OffBeat contributor, the late John Swenson, asked Washington how he got started on the electric guitar. “K-Doe had bought an electric guitar and amp and he tried to learn how to play it but that didn’t work out, so he gave it to me. From then on, I played electric guitar. I had learned how to play chords. It just came to me naturally when I picked it up and started to play. I learned by watching people. Because I knew how to sing it was easy for me to play a chord. At first, I had it tuned to open chords.”

When asked how he met Lee Dorsey, “Well that was really accidental, because the bass player was getting ready to go on the road with Lee, but they needed a guitar, and he asked me if I wanted to go. I told him you gotta talk to my mama, so Lee came by the house and told her I would be all right. That was my very first what you would call… ‘experience.’” It turned out that his first professional gig was playing the Apollo Theater in New York. “I wanted to prove myself. I went out there and I started playing too loud. That was an experience. I played right before Joe Tex.”

Asked out how the Roadmasters came together, “I was playing with vocalist, Timothea, and she wanted to get a band together. I already had a drummer, Wilbert “Junkyard Dog” Arnold, so we needed a bass player and that’s when I met Jack Cruz and we’ve been together ever since.”

Even though Washington’s music was about fun and partying, to a large extent there’s a deeply spiritual element to it. “That’s from coming up in the church. I understood there was a supreme being. I went to church but after a while they stopped talking about God and they got into all this ‘What Sally did to John’ stuff. I wasn’t interested in that stuff. I was just interested in God, in the spirit. It just makes you feel good.”

Washington’s manager Adam Shipley said: “For the last six or seven years, Walter got the recognition he deserved. He put out some great music and had a great life. He had cancer and was treated, but it kind of took him over at the end. He’s gone, but he’s in a better place.”

In 2019, he reigned as the king of the Krewe du Vieux parade, riding alongside his queen, Michelle Bushey, whom he married at Tipitina’s in 2021. Washington and his band were regular OffBeat subjects. He graced OffBeat’s cover four times.

A heavy smoker and drinker, Washington battled back from numerous health challenges over the years but in March he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer.

Even as he underwent chemotherapy and radiation, he continued to perform. “Nobody could tell what he was going through. He was a trooper to the end. He didn’t want people feeling sorry for him,” said his wife Michelle Washington.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters, Sada and Mamadou Washington, and a son, Brian Anderson.

Visitation at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home, 3827 Canal Street, will be on January 4th from 8 a.m. to noon, with a jazz funeral and second line to St. Louis Cemetery #3, to be followed by the funeral service at 2 p.m.

A benefit concert to help with medical and funeral expenses is planned for January 8 at Tipitina’s.

Quotes from Adam Shipley and Michelle Washington attributed to article in The Advocate by Keith Spera.