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 ...

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 Pet ...

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 Chicag ...

and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

to Chicago, developing his own place in the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

scene. In 2017, Magic Slim was posthumously inducted in to the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

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 = List of sovereign states, Count ...

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 joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...

s 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''). Additional ...

, 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 John Primer (born March 5, 1945, Camden, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of Will ...

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 t ...

", 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 Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United ...

, 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 Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 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

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 Rooster Blues is an American independent record label founded in 1980. The label is dedicated to blues music from the Mississippi Delta. Rooster Blues was co-founded by Jim O'Neal in Chicago, and initially released 14 albums by South Side blues m ...

) * 1982: ''Grand Slam'' (Rooster Blues) * 1987: ''Live at B.L.U.E.S.'', with

(Blues R&B) * 1990: ''Gravel Road'' ( Blind Pig) * 1992: ''44 Blues'', with

and

Bonnie Lee Bonnie Lee (June 11, 1931 – September 7, 2006) was an American Chicago blues singer known as "The Sweetheart of the Blues". She is best remembered for her lengthy working relationships with Sunnyland Slim and Willie Kent. David Whiteis, who i ...

(Wolf Records) * 1992: ''Spider in My Stew'', with

(Wolf Records) * 1992: ''Blues Behind Closed Doors'', with John Primer and

Billy Branch Billy Branch (born William Earl Branch, October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, a ...

(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 Theodore Joseph "Ted" Horowitz (born March 31, 1960 in The Bronx, New York City, United States), who plays under the stage name of Popa Chubby, is an American singer, composer, and guitarist. Life and career At age thirteen Horowitz began play ...

, 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), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

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

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

(Wolf Records) * 2006: ''That Ain't Right'', Magic Slim & the Teardrops /

Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue ...

with

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

, recorded in 1977 ( Delmark) * 2007: ''The Essential Magic Slim'' (Blind Pig) * 2008: ''Midnight Blues'', with

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

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 mem ...

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 hal ...

, 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 Sco ...

(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