Remembering Magic Slim, the epitome of Chicago blues
Magic Slim, the Mississippi-native guitarist and singer who died early Thursday in Philadelphia, for decades was a standard-bearer for Chicago blues.
Magic Slim, the Mississippi-native guitarist and singer who died early Thursday in Philadelphia, for decades was a standard-bearer for Chicago blues.
The bluesman, 75, died Thursday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, said manager Marty Salzman. Slim had been scheduled to play a show in Harrisburg in early February when he was stricken with bleeding ulcers. He was first treated at a hospital in Pottstown, then transferred to Jefferson two weeks ago for surgery. He also suffered from lung, heart, and kidney disease, and "it all turned out to be too much for him," Salzman said.
Slim, who was born Morris Holt in Torrance, Miss., and grew up in nearby Grenada, began playing guitar after a childhood accident with a cotton gin caused him to lose a pinky finger and give up playing piano. He was a broad and imposing figure on the bandstand, 6-foot-6 and known for his trademark cowboy hat. Slim was given his nickname by childhood friend Magic Sam.
He was by no means one of the Mississippi blues originators. He emigrated to Chicago in 1955, didn't start recording until 1966, and founded his longtime band, the Teardrops, the next year. But the booming-voiced bluesman was one of music's most effectively dependable practitioners, specializing in raw, slow-building grooves that worked their way from simmer to boil in three- or four-set marathon evenings in Chicago clubs or out on the road, at venues such as Warmdaddy's in South Philadelphia, where he was a regular.
In 1990, he began recording for Chicago's Blind Pig label, with whom he released 10 albums, the most recent of which, Baby Boy, came out in August. On the label's website Thursday, Blind Pig owner Jerry Del Giudice said: "Magic Slim embodied the heart and soul of this label. It was Magic Slim and the guys like him, their music, that inspired us to start the label in the first place."
Slim, who most recently had lived in Lincoln, Neb., suffered from a variety of health ailments and was hospitalized while on tour this year. He is survived by his wife, Ann Holt, as well as four sons and one daughter. Funeral and memorial service arrangements are pending.