Morris Holt (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013), known as Magic Slim, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, the son of

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

s, he followed blues greats such as

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

and Howlin' Wolf to Chicago, developing his own place in the Chicago blues scene. In 2017, Magic Slim was posthumously inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.

Biography

Magic Slim was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

mishap. He moved first to nearby

. He first came to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1955 with his friend and mentor Magic Sam. The elder (by six months) Magic (Sam) let the younger Magic (Slim) play

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

with his band and gave him his nickname. At first Slim was not rated very highly by his peers. He returned to Mississippi to work and got his younger brother Nick interested in playing bass. By 1965 he was back in Chicago and in 1970 Nick joined him in his band, the Teardrops. They played in the dim, smoke-filled juke joints popular in Chicago in the 1970s on bandstands barely large enough to hold the musicians. Slim's recording career began in 1966 with the song "Scufflin'", followed by a number of singles into the mid-1970s. He recorded his first album in 1977, ''Born Under a Bad Sign'', for the French label MCM. During the 1980s, Slim released albums for

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won his first W. C. Handy Award. In 1980 he recorded a cover version of " Mustang Sally". In 1983, the guitarist John Primer joined the Teardrops and played with the group for 13 years. Releases included ''Spider in My Stew'' on Wolf Records – which included the title track "

Spider in My Stew "Spider in My Stew" is a song composed by Willie Dixon and first recorded by American blues musician Buster Benton. It is performed as a slow, minor-key blues, with Benton's impassioned vocal and B.B King-influenced electric guitar playing. For ...

", composed by

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

and originally recorded by Buster Benton - and a 1996 Blind Pig release, ''Scufflin, which presented the post-Primer lineup with the recent addition of the guitarist and singer Jake Dawson. In 1994, Slim moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where the Zoo Bar had been booking him for years. He was frequently accompanied by his son Shawn Holt, an accomplished guitarist and singer. In 2003, Magic Slim and the Teardrops won the W. C. Handy Award as Blues Band of the Year for the sixth time. They released a live performance on CD and DVD in August 2005 entitled ''Anything Can Happen''. Slim died at a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 2013 at age 75. He had health problems that had worsened while he was on tour several weeks earlier. His manager had stated that bleeding ulcers had sent Slim to the hospital, but that he also suffered from heart, lung and kidney problems. In May 2013, Magic Slim was posthumously awarded another Blues Music Award in the category Traditional Blues Male Artist. In 2017, Magic Slim was posthumously inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.

Discography

* 1977: ''Born Under a Bad Sign'' (MCM, reissued by Storyville) * 1978: ''Let Me Love You'' (MCM) * 1978: ''Highway Is My Home'' ( Black & Blue, reissued by

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

) * 1978: ''Living Chicago Blues, Vol. 2'' (

) * 1980: ''Liv 'n Blue'' (Candy Apple CA) * 1980: ''In the Heart of the Blues'' (Isabel) * 1980: ''Doing Fine'' (Isabel) * 1982: ''Raw Magic'' (Alligator) * 1982: ''Essential Boogie'' ( Rooster Blues) * 1982: ''Grand Slam'' (Rooster Blues) * 1987: ''Live at B.L.U.E.S.'', with John Primer (Blues R&B) * 1990: ''Gravel Road'' (

Blind Pig A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

) * 1992: ''44 Blues'', with John Primer and Bonnie Lee (Wolf Records) * 1992: ''Spider in My Stew'', with John Primer (Wolf Records) * 1992: ''Blues Behind Closed Doors'', with John Primer and Billy Branch (Wolf Records) * 1993: ''Magic Slim & the Teardrops'' (Wolf Records) * 1994: ''Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 10'' (Wolf Records) * 1994: ''Don't Tell Me About Your Troubles'' (Wolf Records) * 1995: ''Zoo Bar Collection, Vol. 3'' (Wolf Records) * 1995: ''Alone & Unplugged'' * 1995: ''Born on a Bad Sign'' * 1996: ''Scufflin'' (Tone Zone Studios) * 1997: ''Let Me Love You'' * 1998: ''Zoo Bar Collection, Vol. 4: Spider in My Stew'' * 1998: ''See What You're Doin' to Me'' (Wolf Records) * 1998: ''Black Tornado'' (Blind Pig) * 2000: ''Snakebite'' (Blind Pig) * 2000: ''Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 18: Live on the Road'' (Wolf Records) * 2002: ''Blue Magic'', produced by Popa Chubby, who played 2nd guitar on some tracks (Blind Pig) * 2005: ''Anything Can Happen'',

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

(Blind Pig) * 2006: ''Tin Pan Alley'',

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

(Wolf Records) * 2006: ''That Ain't Right'', Magic Slim & the Teardrops / Joe Carter with Sunnyland Slim, recorded in 1977 ( Delmark) * 2007: ''The Essential Magic Slim'' (Blind Pig) * 2008: ''Midnight Blues'', with James Cotton,

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a membe ...

Lil' Ed Williams Lil' Ed Williams (born April 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois) is an American blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, he has built up a loyal following. Biography In childhood, Williams and his half-b ...

, Lonnie Brooks and Otis Clay, produced by

Nick Moss Nick Moss (born December 15, 1969, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues musician. He has released thirteen albums to date, all on his own label, Blue Bella Records label. He has played with Buddy Sc ...

(Blind Pig) * 2009: ''Rough Dried Woman'',

, recorded 1986–1992 (Wolf Records) * 2010: ''Raising the Bar'' * 2012: ''Bad Boy'' (Blind Pig) * 2014: ''Pure Magic'' (Wolf)

References

External links

* *
Magic Slim's Myspace PageSlim biography at blindpigrecords.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slim, Magic 1937 births 2013 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Blues musicians from Mississippi People from Yalobusha County, Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Black & Blue Records artists Alligator Records artists Blind Pig Records artists

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links