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| Magic Slim performs at the 25th Annual Chicago Blues Fest. Photo by Adam Bielawski - June 8, 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The blues world lost another great one this week.
The musician known as Magic Slim died at a Philadelphia hospital at the age of 75. Born
Morris Holt in Torrance, Mississippi in 1937, the guitarist performer,
bandleader, and recording artist went on to enjoy a career that launched
him to national and international recognition and acclaim.
Slim was one of the foremost
practitioners of the raw, gut-bucket, back alley blues associated with
the postwar Chicago blues sound. He and his band, the Teardrops, were
known as "the last real Chicago blues band" for their authentic,
no-frills, straight-no-chaser performance of the music.
In 1955, like many musicians
from the Deep South, Slim migrated to Chicago, where he was mentored by
his friend Magic Sam, who gave the lanky Morris his lifelong stage
moniker. Initially discouraged by the highly competitive local music
scene, Slim went back to Mississippi and spent the next five years
woodshedding and perfecting his craft.
He confidently returned to
Chicago and became a formidable player on the scene, eventually putting
together the Teardrops, who would become one of the busiest and
best-loved blues bands around, and one of the most sought-after
headliners for festivals in Europe, Japan, and South America.
Slim and
his group won the coveted Blues Music Award in 2003 as "Blues Band of
the Year," one of six times Slim won a BMA, considered the highest honor
in the blues.
"Magic Slim embodied the heart
and soul of this label," Blind Pig
Records owner Jerry Del Giudice said. "It was Magic Slim, and the guys like him, and
their music, that inspired us to start the label in the first place."
Information courtesy of Blind Pig Records.
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