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

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, the son of

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

s, he followed blues greats such as

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

to Chicago, developing his own place in the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

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

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation 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 b ...

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 (); ...

mishap. He moved first to nearby

. He first came to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

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 African-American vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United St ...

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, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

, 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 W ...

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", 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, 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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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 on a Bad Sign'' (MCM Blues Records, reissued on Storyville) * 1978: ''Let Me Love You (Magic Slim, Vol. 2)'' (MCM Blues Records, reissued on Storyville) * 1978: ''Living Chicago Blues, Volume 2'' (

7702) * 1979: ''Highway Is My Home'' ( Black & Blue, reissued on

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

) * 1980: ''Live 'n' Blue'' (Candy Apple 0401) * 1980: ''In the Heart of the Blues'' (Isabel) * 1981: ''Doing Fine'' (Isabel) * 1982: ''Raw Magic'' (Alligator 4728) * 1982: ''Grand Slam (Essential Boogie)'' ( Rooster Blues 2618) * 1983: ''T.V. Dinner Blues'' (Blue Dog 001) * 1984: ''Blues From the Zoo Bar'' (Blue Dog 002) * 1986: ''Chicago Blues Session, Volume 3 (The 1987 WC Handy Blues Award Winner)'' (Wolf Records) * 1987: ''Chicago Blues Session, Volume 4 (Nora Lee)'', with Alabama Jr. Pettis and

(Wolf Records) * 1987: ''Live at B.L.U.E.S.'', with John Primer (Blues R&B 3701) * 1989: ''Magic Slim Live!'' (Plymouth House 8902) * 1989: ''Chicago Blues Session, Volume 10 (You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had)'' (Wolf Records) * 1990: ''Gravel Road'' ( CrossCut Records; Blind Pig Records) * 1990: ''Chicago Blues Session, Volume 18 (Live on the Road)'' (Wolf Records) * 1992: ''44 Blues'', with John Primer and Bonnie Lee (Wolf Records) * 1995: ''Alone & Unplugged'' (Wolf Records) * 1996: ''Scufflin'' (Blind Pig) * 1998: '' Black Tornado'' (Blind Pig) * 1998: ''Don't Tell Me About Your Troubles: Zoo Bar Collection, Volume 1'', recorded live (Wolf Records) * 1998: ''See What You're Doin' To Me: Zoo Bar Collection, Volume 2'', recorded live (Wolf Records) * 1998: ''Teardrop: Zoo Bar Collection, Volume 3'', with John Primer, recorded live (Wolf Records) * 1998: ''Spider In My Stew: Zoo Bar Collection, Volume 4'', with John Primer, recorded live mid-1980s (Wolf Records) * 1998: ''Highway Is My Home: Zoo Bar Collection, Volume 5'', with John Primer, recorded live late-1980s (Wolf Records) * 2000: ''Snakebite'' (Blind Pig) * 2002: ''Blue Magic'', produced by Popa Chubby who played second guitar on 4 tracks (Blind Pig) * 2005: ''Anything Can Happen'',

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

(Blind Pig) * 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 Jays ...

with Sunnyland Slim, split album/recorded 1977 ( Delmark) * 2007: ''The Essential Magic Slim'', compilation (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. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

, Lil' Ed Williams, Lonnie Brooks and

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical fami ...

, produced by Nick Moss (Blind Pig) * 2008: ''Chapel Hill'', with Nalle and Omar Dykes (Marsk Music) * 2010: ''Rough Dried Woman'', compilation/material recorded 1986–1992 (Wolf Records) * 2010: ''Raising the Bar'' (Blind Pig) * 2012: ''Bad Boy'' (Blind Pig) * 2012: ''Tin Pan Alley'', compilation/material recorded 1992–1998 (Wolf Records) * 2013: ''Magic Blues: The Blues of the Magic Man'', compilation (Wolf Records) * 2014: ''Pure Magic'', compilation/material recorded 1992–1995 (Wolf Records) * 2019: ''I'm Gonna Play the Blues'', recorded live 2010 (Wolf Records) * 2024: ''Slow Blues'', with John Primer, compilation (Wolf Records) 2-CD

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