Who is Morris Holt? The Blues world knows him as Magic Slim, he is an American blues singer and guitarist. 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 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 group, the Teardrops. They played in the dim, smoke-filled juke joints popular in Chicago in the 1970s on band stands barely large enough to hold the band.
Slim's was born , August 7, 1937, in Grenada, Mississippi recording career began with the 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 MCM label. During the 1980s, Slim released titles on Alligator, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won his first W.C. Handy Award. In 1980 he recorded his cover version of "Mustang Sally".
In 1982 the guitarist John Primer joined the Teardrops and stayed and played for him for 13 years.Releases include Spider in My Stew on Wolf Records, and a 1996 Blind Pig release called Scufflin' , which presented the post-Primer line-up with the new 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.
In 2003 Magic Slim and the Teardrops won the W.C. Handy Award as 'Blues Band Of The Year' for the sixth time. Magic Slim and the Teardrops captured a live performance that was released on CD and DVD in August 2005, entitled Anything Can Happen.
"Magic Slim consistently offers no-frills houserockin’ blues. He and his band are a national treasure." - Living Blues Magazine
Discography
- 1977 : Born Under a Bad Sign (MCM), reissue (Storyville)
- 1978 : Highway is My Home (Black & Blue), reissue (Evidence)
- 1978 : Let Me Love You (MCM)
- 1978 : Living Chicago Blues, Vol. 2 (Alligator)
- 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)
- 1990 : Gravel Road (Blind Pig)
- 1992 : 44 Blues (Wolf Records) with John Primer and Bonnie Lee
- 1992 : Spider in My Stew (Wolf Records) with John Primer
- 1992 : Blues Behind Closed Doors (Wolf Records) with John Primer and Billy Branch
- 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 (Blind Pig)
- 2005 : Anything Can Happen (Blind Pig) (live album)
- 2006 : Tin Pan Alley (Wolf Records) (compilation album)
- 2006 : That Ain't Right (Delmark) Magic Slim & the Teardrops / Joe Carter with Sunnyland Slim - originally recorded in 1977
- 2007 :
The Essential Magic Slim (Blind Pig) - 2008 : Midnight Blues (Blind Pig) - produced by Nick Moss with special guests James Cotton, Elvin Bishop, Lil' Ed Williams, Lonnie Brooks, and Otis Clay
- 2009 : Rough Dried Woman (Wolf Records) (compilation album - 1986-1992)
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