Magic Slim memorial tribute set for Chicago

MAGIC SLIM MEMORIAL TRIBUTE AND BENEFIT SET FOR CHICAGO The blues community will come together to honor Magic Slim, a towering figure in the genre for many years who passed away on February 21st at the age of 75.   A NIGHT FOR MAGIC, a tribute to Magic Slim, will take place on Thursday, March 28th in Chicago. Born Morris Holt in Torrance, Mississippi in 1937, the guitarist, performer, bandleader, and recording artist went on to enjoy a career that brought him national and international recognition and acclaim. He was considered 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, became known as the "last real Chicago blues band" and were one of the busiest and best-loved blues groups around.   "A NIGHT FOR MAGIC" THURSDAY, MARCH 28th THE MAYNE STAGE 1328 W. MORSE AVENUE, CHICAGO 7:00 pm  TICKETS $25 The host band for the evening will be The Teardrops, fronted by Slim's son, Shawn Holt, who just became a member of the band at the beginning of the year. The rest of the lineup will include John Primer, Otis Clay, Eddy Clearwater, Billy Branch, Lonnie Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Dave Specter, Eddie Shaw, Nick Moss, Grana Louise, Big Time Sarah, Zac Harmon, Carl Weathersby, J.W. Williams, Jimmy Burns, Linsey Alexander, Steve Cushing, the Chicago Blues All-Stars and more to be announced.  All proceeds from the event will go to Slim's family. For those who can't make the event but would like to make a donation to the family, donations can be made to Magic Slim's wife, Ann Holt, and mailed to her c/o Slim's manager, Martin Salzman, at 22 W. Washington, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60602. Slim's slash and burn guitar technique, booming vocals, and intense style was the blueprint that spawned much of the music played by modern blues artists and rock and rollers.  Living Blues magazine called Slim and the Teardrops "a national treasure." and they became one of the most sought-after headliners for festivals in Europe, Japan, and South America. Magic Slim and the Teardrops 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.  In 2011 the state of Mississippi erected a Blues Trail Marker in Slim's honor in front of a building in Grenada where his mother operated a restaurant.  For more information visit www.blindpigrecords.com.

Magic Slim, Blues Icon, Dies at 75

MAGIC SLIM, BLUES ICON, DIES AT 75 Magic Slim, a revered and towering figure in the field of traditional Chicago blues, died today in 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. Slim's slash and burn guitar technique and booming vocals made for a commanding stage presence. His intense style was the blueprint that spawned much of the music played by modern blues artists and rockers.  After catching one of Slim's electrifying live shows at a local nightclub Eddie Vetter invited Slim to open Pearl Jam's concert in Chicago.  Magic Slim also had an encyclopedic repertoire of hundreds of blues songs in his head, giving his live shows a charming impromptu quality. Growing up in Grenada, Mississippi, Slim took an early interest in music, singing in the church choir, and fashioning a guitar for himself with baling wire from a broom, which he nailed to the wall. "Mama whooped me for that," recalled Slim. His first love was the piano, but having lost the little finger on his right hand in a cotton gin accident, he found it difficult to play properly. Undaunted, he simply switched to guitar, working in the cotton fields during the week and playing the blues at house parties on weekends.  In 2011 the state of Mississippi erected a Blues Trail Marker in Slim's honor in front of a building in Grenada where his mother operated a restaurant. 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.  Living Blues magazine called Slim and the Teardrops "a national treasure." Slim's recording career began with a series of singles in 1966, and he recorded his first album for a French label in 1977.  With the release of Gravel Road in 1990, he began a twenty-two year association with Blind Pig Records, who issued ten albums and a live DVD over that span.  His last release, 2012's Bay Boy, proved that Slim could still deliver the goods. As No Depression said, "Magic Slim doesn't just play the blues, he body slams his audiences with a vicious guitar attack that pins them to the floor. His blues are the in-your-face variety."  AllMusicGuide added, "Magic Slim turned 75 in 2012, but his growling vocals have the fire and brimstone of a Young Lion and his guitar playing is still as razor-sharp as it was when he turned pro in the '50s." Blind Pig Records owner Jerry Del Giudice said, "Magic Slim embodied the heart and soul of this label.  It was Magic Slim, and the guys like him, and their music, that inspired us to start the label in the first place." Blues Revue once remarked, "Whoever the house band in blues heaven may be, even money says they're wearing out Magic Slim albums trying to get that Teardrops sound down cold."  Now Slim can assume his rightful place as the leader of that band. For a complete biography, please click HERE.  To see a video of Slim recording "Goin' To Mississippi" in the Blind Pig Chicago warehouse in April of 2002, please click HERE.

Magic Slim has passed

This has now unfortunately been confirmed.

For Immediate Release

Posted by Magic Slim on February 22, 2013 at 3:50 AM

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It is with great sorrow that I inform you that Magic Slim, a.k.a. Morris Holt of Grenada, Mississippi passed away Thursday, February 21, 2013. He will be missed by his family, friends and blues fans all over the world. Funeral arrangements and a Memorial Service will be announced later this week. The family wishes to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers.
Marty Salzman - Manager Magic Slim
Linda Cunningham - Public Releations Magic Slim
Mike Blakemore - Tour Manager Magic Slim

Magic Slim alive

It was reported earlier that magic Slim had passed. Here is the link: LINK Fortunately at this point his website confirms that he is hanging on:

 

 

 

 

 

Magic Slim

Posted by Magic Slim on February 21, 2013 at 12:30 AM

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As of 9:50 tonight (Wednesday, February 20, 2013) Magic Slim is still breathing. We will post otherwise when that time comes. Thank you.

Magic Slim Hospitalized

Posted by Magic Slim on February 8, 2013 at 8:00 PM

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For Immediate Release - Per Marty Salzman Management - Magic Slim
Magic Slim remains hospitalized in Pennsylvania under treatment for bleeding ulcers complicated by pre-existing issues with his kidneys, his lungs, his weight, and his heart. Although seriously ill, he has been stable for the past three days, his kidneys have improved, the bleeding has stopped and his heart rate has improved. He still has a long road ahead of him, but things are moving in the right direction. We thank everybody for their kind words and prayers and ask that you keep Magic Slim in your prayers.
Linda Cunningham
Public Relations - Magic Slim

Magic Slim is a living blues legend who migrated from the South to Chicago during the 40s and 50s. Slim plays raw intense blues, a style that uses no pedals down on the floor, just him. Slim has paved the way for rock as well as modern blues. Slim has been busy traveling to the juke joints in Mississippi to the nightclubs in Chicago and to concert stages throughout the world, he has built up a die hard fan base within it, and with his release on Blind Pig, "Raising The Bar," on CD, it has been receiving immense reviews and overwhelming recognition. Slim and The Teardrops performances have become legendary, and they play the blues with an undeniable intensity that will leave you out of breath on the floor and in need for more. This is a look into a man that's from the country and plays to audiences on stages all across the world. This big man of the blues was born Morris Holt in Torrence, Mississippi on August 7th, 1937. His mother and father were sharecroppers; they lived on a farm and they all would get up early in the mornings and slop the hogs, feed the chickens, catch the mule and go out into the fields. "I still had to go to the field until I got age enough to leave home. I got little jobs around there when I was 13 and that was when I got my hand hurt. I hurt it in a cotton gin. I was at the gin and my hand got caught on a piece of wire going up in there, and I grabbed it and before I could turn it loose, I lost my little pinky finger." Slim showed his musical talents early, singing in his church choir and playing piano. After his accident he couldn't play the piano anymore because he didn't have that little pinky finger so he picked up the guitar. He made his first guitar out of bailing wire from a broom, which he nailed to a wall. "My Mama whopped me when I tore up her broom," he said, "but she let me keep on using it. My Mama said later that if she had known what I'd be into later, she wouldn't have given me a whopping." It was in 1955 when Slim made his first trip to Chicago, to play for Magic Sam, a friend of his from home. Magic Sam also gave Slim tips on playing the guitar, and it was Sam who called his bass player "Magic Slim," because back then Slim was lean and tall and he learned from Sam quickly. Sam told Slim to develop his own guitar style. "Magic Sam told me, don't try to play like him, and don't try to play like no one else; he said get a sound of your own." Slim did get a sound of his own; his guitar tone is tough and cutting, united with a virbato formed by his fingers against the strings to reproduce the sound of a slide guitar while still being able to bend the note. Slim said, "I slide with my finger. I use nothing on my finger, a lot of players try to get a sound like me and I play the same guitar everybody else plays." Slim's take on writing songs. "I just think of some words and write them down, think of some more and write them down, and then when I get enough words together I take out some and put some in there and make them rhyme together and then I learn them, then I put music to them." "My songs are either telling a story or asking a question. It's just a feelin'." I understand you do not practice or rehearse. "No, I don't." How do you make up your set lists for your shows? "I see what kind of crowd it is, I play a few songs and see how people react and just see if they are a dancin' crowd or an older crowd and go from there." Do you have a favorite CD? "No, I like them all." What about a song to play? "I don't know, I like to play all of them." "And I like to listen to blues, jazz, bluesgrass and country and western." Some of Slim's favorite places to play are Brazil, Paris, Russia and here at home in the U.S. What accomplishment stand out in your mind? "I've done so many things that make me proud, for one I like to make the people happy when I''m playing on stage and two, when I won the Handy for "Best Blues Band." Where do you think the blues is headed? "I think the blues is coming back now, there are a lot of these kids reading up on the blues and now they know where the blues came from. Some of them can play too; I don't know how they feel, because the blues is a feelin'. You have to feel the blues to play it." What advice do you have fo aspiring young guitarists? "If you want to play the blues, play the blues. If you are goin' to play rock, play rock. I didn't say not to learn everything else, whatever you want to be, be that." Magic Slim is a man that came from the country; he was slim and tall trying to play the blues, now he can play the blues. And like Slim says, "If you want to play the blues, play the blues, if you don't feel the blues, leave it alone, cause you can't be playin' it if you don't feel it."

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