In Memoriam – Magic Slim

‘Magic Slim Obituary’ – by Keith Woods, from Tales From The Woods

Tales From The Woods raises a glass and says farewell to Blues guitarist/singer Magic Slim who died on 21st February 2013 aged 75.

I was lucky enough to catch this old style rough sewn Blues musician in action a few times back in the final decade of the last century at the legendary 100 Club where, most Sundays, Blues fans were able to witness surviving Blues legends from Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, Clarksdale Mississippi too; Lefty Dizz, Phillip Walker, John Primer, Larry Garner, Luther Allison to name but five. Going to a blues gig in those days did not mean you were off to see a bunch of blonde haired, blue eyed middle class white boys from Kingston Upon Thames. A healthy filled venue would be privileged to witness the real deal; Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other such giants may have departed this earth a decade or two before but we still had these guys. Sadly now some of those names have gone too, including now one Magic Slim.

Born Morris Holt in the small isolated town of Torrance, Mississippi upon the 17th August 1937, in childhood he was fascinated from an early age by the music he heard from all around him, both on the radio and coming from the bars in the streets he walked with his family. Those streets too played host to itinerant musicians playing the blues for loose change. Although becoming reasonably proficient on the piano at an early age, an accident at a cotton gin put an end to any ambition he may have secretly held. Losing the little finger on his right hand he diverted his attentions to the guitar.

In a period not long after the accident the young Morris moved with his family to the larger locality of Grenada, Mississippi, It was here that a wide eyed lad encountered his first musical hero, although barely more than six months older than Morris. The young guitarist and singer, Sam Maghett, despite his youth was already developing a magnetic personality with guitar skills to match. The mid fifties would see Sam split for Chicago with Morris in tow as his bass player, a name change for Sam to become Magic Sam, likewise for the now six foot tall and very slender Morris who had the moniker Magic Slim bestowed upon him.

Competition in Chicago in the fifties was indeed tough. Morris headed home to Grenada to perfect his craft, and a whole decade would pass before he ventured back to Chicago. It was there that he formed the first line up of the band that would carry the name Teardrops throughout the decades to follow. It included younger brothers Nick on bass and Douglas on drums.

At the time one of the best known Blues clubs in the city was Florence’s. it was here that Magic Slim & The Teardrops began to be noticed. If Hound Dog Taylor, their star attraction, was touring or simply out of town, Slim and his band were the first to be asked to step in.

The mid-sixties saw them venture into the recording studio for the first time, recording a couple of singles that failed to ignite much interest. He would have to wait well over a decade until 1976 to get the calling for a debut album. It was Europe that gave Slim and his Teardrops their big break where it was recorded by the French label MCM at Ma Bea’s club where the band held a residency. Another followed in rapid succession. Soon they hit the road outside the US building a considerable following in Belgium, Germany, Austria, throughout the countries of Scandinavia, Greece and as far afield as Japan, in Brazil becoming a household name as much as is possible for a blues man to do so. It was France that had virtually discovered him and there where he performed regularly as well as recording further albums for Black & Blue and Isabel labels.

Towards the end of the seventies in his native United States highly respected blues label Alligator Records came a knocking. It was for them that he recorded four power house performances that would find their way on to a compilation album series, Living Chicago Blues. It would prove to be Rooster Records that would find him at his best. A studio album with the feel of a live gig committed very much to the sound of a fifties Muddy Waters band, titled Grand Slam. This joint American/British enterprise helped to pave the way for a loyal UK fan base.

As the decade of the eighties came and went, many fine Blues guitarists passed through the ranks of the Teardrops and certainly none finer than John Primer and Junior Pettis, remaining in the band when Slim upped sticks and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, by all accounts a city that had a considerable Blues following, soon gaining a residency at the Zoo Bar. Amazingly five albums were cut at this thriving blues venue by Slim & The Teardrops.

In 1990 he signed with the American blues label Blind Pig, an association that would last until his death, cutting no less than eight albums and a ‘best of’ compilation. Renowned and no doubt happiest with the type of raw, passionate, gut bucket style he had honed to perfection through decades of toil in an endless round of blues clubs and foreign tours.

It was producer Dick Shurman who guided him through what many blues aficionados consider his consummate album, the 1998 Black Tornado, extending his material without losing any of that aforementioned passion. The album also featured Slim’s guitarist son Shawn.As the new century unfolded the spirit of fifties Chicago remained alive and well with further albums; Blue Magic 2002, Midnight Blues 2008 hosted an array of blues star names including James Cotton, Lonnie Brooks, Elvin Bishop amongst others. Slim’s final album of 2012 Bad Boy affirmed that the changeless quality of raw blues is still out there to be heard and discovered for those who are hardy enough to seek it out.

Magic Slim & The Teardrops won the blues band of the year award in 2003, along with several other prestigious awards including a WC Handy for their albums.

Keith Woods

 

Wikipedia Entry

Morris Holt (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013), known as Magic Slim, was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters 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.

Magic Slim was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a cotton gin mishap. He moved first to nearby Grenada. He first came to Chicago in 1955 with his friend and mentor Magic Sam. The elder (by six months) Magic (Sam) let the younger Magic (Slim) play bass 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, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won his first W. C. Handy Award. In 1980 he recorded a cover version of “Mustang Sally”.

In 1982, 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”, composed by Willie Dixon 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.

 

Further references:

EarlyBlues.com interview with Magic Slim