PHOTO PIERRE DEGENEFFE

And You Know That!

A Short Survey
Dave van Bladel

Sources
[1]

1998 Interview on: ilpopolodelblues.com

[2]

1999 Mike Garner for: Blues.Nz on May 26,

[3]

bluessearchengine.com/bluesartists

[4]

2010, Alan White for: earlyblues.com

[5]

Tracie Reed 2002 interview with Magic Slim and the Teardrops for Entertainment Magazine

[6]

Darryl Sterdan 2004 interview on 30th November for: jam.canoe.com

[7]

1998 Ray Stiles for mnblues.com about Bayfront Blues Festival

[8]

2002 Tom Hyslop for: Blues Revue no. 78 Oct/Nov

[9]

Allen Kirk Interview by Michael Limnios for Blues Greece

[10]

David Whiteis on Maxwell Street musicians.

[11]

Cub Koda on Black Tornado

[12]

jukegh.blogspot.nl

[13]

wirz.de/music/american

[14]

wdd.mbnet.fi/magicslim

[15]

David Whiteis for chicagoreader.com

[16]

last.fm

[17]

A Review on redlick.com (mail order supplier)

Childhood
1937: Magic Slim was born Morris Holt to sharecropper parents on the 7th of August in Torrence,
Mississippi, USA. They lived on a farm where the young Morris would have little jobs to do. When
he was about 12 or 14 he got his hand caught in a cotton gin and he lost his little 'pinky' finger. He
took an early interest in music.
[1]How did growing up in Mississippi influence your decision to play music? "Well, going to church,
singing in church, watching the lady play the piano, I loved it, I wanted to do it, so here I am! Not
playin' piano though I got my right hand hurt in a cotton gin and I couldn't play the piano, so I
switched from piano to guitar!

Magic Slim

[6] Slim first fell in love with music watching the church pianist. But his dreams of tickling the
ivories ended abruptly in a farm accident. "I got my hand caught in a cotton gin and I lost my
finger. It was the little finger on my right hand. So I couldn't play piano no more -- well, I could still
play it but I couldn't play it right no more. But I was determined to play music. So I kept at it and I
got my first guitar when I was about 12."
[4] What were your first musical memories growing up in Mississippi? "Piano."
Did you come from a musical family? "No. My Momma was the only one in our family who started
to play." Did you always want to become a musician? "Well, when you are in the country and you
are a sharecropper, you dont know what you want to be." You said you started with a piano, but

then you switched to a guitar. "After I got my hand hurt when I was about 14 and I couldnt play
the piano because I didn't have the pinky finger then I switched over to the guitar."
Undaunted, he simply switched to guitar, working during the week and listening to music on the
radio on evenings and on weekends. He fashioned a guitar for himself with baling wire from a
broom, which he nailed to the wall.
[5] "When I was little, I got a whoopin' 'cause I tore up my mama's broom. I got the steel wire off of
it and leaned it upside down of the wall. Then I put a bottle down there and a bottle on top. I did
one of those nine inch jobs. Small." Slim hums and motions his fingers like as if he were playing the
steel wire when he was little. "She whipped me 'cause I tore up the broom and 'cause I didn't tell
her. She also told me to absolutely always ask for what you want. She says she would have given it
to me. She says she'd would have it fixed it if she'd know that I wanted it that bad. What I'd got
whipped you for was 'cause I didn't ask. I was mad at her for about 20 minutes. But it's good that I
didn't say nothin. Then she'd got me a real one. But mother and father are all gone now. "
1948: Morris Holt moved to Grenada, Mississippi, where he met and became friends with Magic
Sam, born Samuel Maghett, who gave him a few pointers on guitar.
[1] "Did Magic Sam ever teach you guitar? Well, not exactly, we used to sit down and play together
some, but what I didn't know was he would show me how t'do it, you know."
[3] Slim recalls, "We used to sit up under the tree Sunday afternoons and play our little acoustic
guitars. Magic Sam told me dont try to play like him, dont try to play like nobody. Get a sound of
your own."

Magic Sam

[6] "We was good friends. We used to go school together and to church. Then we would go to his
house or mine and sit under the shade tree and play acoustic guitar. Then when we got older he
went off to Chicago and a while later, I followed him. Well, I wasn't really following him. I knew he
was in Chicago and I really wanted to get out of the South."

[2] How long has your brother Nick been playing with you and do you have other brothers/sisters
in music? "My brother Nick's been playin' with me ever since I started up on my own. My baby
brother, he used to play with me but we couldn't get along... He played drums, but we are the
same sign and couldn't get along, so he quit! There's just 4 boys and 1 girls. Only the three of us
really are into music, playing it anyway!"

First move to Chicago

1955: When Slim made his first trip to Chicago in 1955, he met Magic Sam again, who offered his
friend encouragement and giving the lanky Morris his lifelong stage moniker.
[1] "Well, I was slim and tall, I wasn't as large as I am now... I used to play bass a lot. I never were
a member of Magic Sam's band, but I used to go around with him a lot, playing bass and guitar.
Slowly, he just started callin' me Magic Slim! So after a while he told me to just keep that name,
that the name would make me famous one day! So, I did, and I'm glad I did!"
Slim played guitar in Robert "Dancin' " Perkins band: Mr. Pitiful & The Teardrops.
Here is some info on Mr. Pitiful:
[4] "See when I first was in Chicago I was playing with a guy by the name of Robert Perkins and he
had the name Teardrop, Mr. Pitiful and The Teardrops that was the name of his band. He always
be crying and he was so in love with his old lady, oh I dont know what happened. But he quit and I
kept the band and he told me, "Take the name of the Teardrop so I kept it." Mr. Pitiful & The
Teardrops played at a Chicago club named The Bo Weavil at 29th and Wentworth. Magic Slim
become the band leader when Mr. Pitiful, who played bass, quit. After Mr. Pitiful left, the band
went through a few changes before Slim changed the band name to Magic Slim & The Teardrops.
[1] How did you come to name your band "The Teardrops"? "Before me and my band got started I
was working with a guy named Robert Perkins. He had a little band called "Mr. Pitiful and the
Teardrops". I was workin' with him right before I got my band together. He quit, and his band
broke up. He said 'Slim, you take that name, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, 'cause I ain't never
gonna use it no more' so I took it!"
[2] "Robert Dancin Perkins, a stalwart of the Chicago Blues scene and a retired crane operator,
was born in 1931 in the countryside near Baltimore Maryland. His parents moved to the near South
Side of Chicago when he was four years old. He was first taken to Maxwell Street by his parents
when he was eight years old and remembers hearing a lot of the bands back then. "They be really
gittin it on," he says. His parents bought him an acoustic guitar in the Maxwell Street area when
he was ten years old. He was inspired to play Blues from listening to the musicians on Maxwell
Street and from hearing his stepfather, Luther Miller, play blues guitar around the house.
[2] He regularly played on Maxwell Street from 1965 up until the old market was moved in 1994.
He played with John Davis (the Mayor of Maxwell Street), Maxwell Street Jimmie Davis, Pat
Rushing, Willie James, and John Embry, whom he credits "with keepin me going to play the Blues
by finding me jobs at the clubs."

Robert Dancin Perkins by Jean Luc Vabres

Dancin Perkins, Riler IceMan Robinson and Shedrick Davis also played for a long time at Baby Duck
Embry's Club... Sometimes With The Bell Family.

Robert Dancin Perkins, Riler Iceman Robinson, John Embry on Maxwell Street by Lowell Beyer.

He got the nick name, Dancin, because of the eccentric dance steps he does while playing his bass
guitar. He is also known as Mr. Pitiful, a name he got from playing with a band he headed, called
Mr. Pitiful & The Teardrops. When Magic Slim wanted to tour England with the band, Mr. Perkins
had to decline because of his fear of flying, and so split off from the band. Perkins kept the name
Mr. Pitiful and Magic Slim kept the name Teardrops. Mr. Perkins now (1999) calls his band, Mr.
Pitiful and the Blues Busters. It is a four piece band, which includes his son Chris on drums, plus a
singer, the Down Home Lady, who also got inspired to sing blues by going down to Maxwell
Street."
[10] After Slim took over the Teardrops, Perkins played for years behind the late John Embry as part
of a loose aggregation of musicians sometimes known as the Ghetto Kings. Embry was the focal
point for an entire musical fraternity on the south side. His solid musicianship and clean life-style,
which provided some much-needed stability to the often-chaotic world of bluesmen, made many of
Chicago's best-known musicians gravitate to him. Embry was one of Maxwell Street's most popular
figures; and his shows, featuring in later years Little Nick on guitar and Perkins on bass, were
convivial get-togethers of longtime friends. Their affection for one another lent an aura of warmth
to the music.
John Embry died in late 1985--only days after playing on the last warm Sunday morning in late
October--and within a year, Perkins established himself as the heir apparent to Embry's Maxwell
Street throne. The band Perkins has fronted featured Riler "Ice Man" Robinson playing his
trademark bright green guitar (Robinson used to play on the corner of Maxwell and Newberry).
Unlike some Maxwell Street musicians, Robinson can carry a show in a club setting as well as in the
open-air informality of the street.

Robert DancinPerkins and Riler Iceman Robinson on Maxwell Street by Lowell Beyer.
The highlight of Sunday morning, though, is Perkins's dance. It usually comes after he's introduced
all the musicians and given a solo slot to each. He mumbles laconically, "Now this is what we call
shuckin' and jivin', y' know? Over here, we got Ice Man, and we're gonna check him out, see if he
can do some shuckin' and jivin' . . ." Robinson obliges with some searing lead work, and then the
pattern repeats itself, with each musician--the inevitable guest guitarists as well as Perkins's young
son on drums--getting the chance to show his stuff.
Finally, it's the bandleader's turn. "OK, now I think I'm gonna check myself out, y' know?" Holding
his bass behind his head or propping it up on the ground and spinning around it as if it were a
dwarf maypole, he kicks high into the air, does groin-straining splits, and shuffles backward in a

modified camel walk, all the while pounding out his trademark bass riff, sometimes using just his
left hand.
The dust swirls around his black cowboy boots (occasionally ornamented with huge spurs), and
Robinson and the other guitarists get into the unmistakable Maxwell Street groove--raucous and
distorted, the apparently dissonant chords and harmonic ideas somehow meshing into a grand,
fuzzy-edged harmony. It would be impossible to duplicate anywhere else--and the crowd erupts
into cheers and applause.
The show remains pretty much the same every Sunday. Perkins has a standard set of jokes and raps
he runs through, humorous intros that poke irreverent fun at politicians ranging from President
Reagan to Jesse Jackson; the songs consist entirely of well-worn standards. Regulars can call the
introductions, the songs, even the musical patterns by heart before they're played. The atmosphere
is like a family gathering, where everyone's stories and moldy old jokes create a warm, cozy
atmosphere all the more treasured because it's predictable. Familiarity, in this case, breeds
appreciation.

Robert Dancin Perkins and his wife and Magic Slim. Photo by Chris Alexander.

Return to Grenada
1959: Slim found it rough going on the highly competitive Chicago blues scene and returned,
discouraged, to Mississippi and spent the next five years woodshedding and perfecting his craft.
[1] "Well, they say I wasn't good enough! They didn't want... y' know, the big guys didn't wanna let
me play, didn't wanna let me sit in! But it didn't stop me! I just kept on pushin'! I'm glad I did!"
Demonstrating his characteristic determination, Slim spent the next five years practicing guitar and
teaching his younger brothers, Nick and Douglas (Lee Baby) to play bass and drums respectively.

Back to Chicago
1965: Confident in his abilities, Slim returned to Chicago and established himself as a formidable
player on the scene.

Maxwell Street Market area, about 1965, at the famed empty lot location by Sangamon Street by
James Newberry
[1] "Yes, I played on Maxwell Street, Chicago. Not that much, but I have! I played with a lot of 'em!
I played with Son Seals, Otis Rush and all of 'em... Lonnie Brooks, it'll take me a While to name 'em
all! Hehe.."

[8] Slim put in his time at day jobs - as a dishwasher, at a laundry, working construction - as he
climbed the musical status ladder.
[2] When did you begin playing your music full-time, for a living? "Let's see here now... gotta put
my thinkin' cap on now... about 1982 or '83."

[1] Did you ever have a regular gig at a Chicago South Side Club? "Oh yeah! I used to have the
1125 regular 'til I quit, then the Checkerboard 'til I quit, then at Florence's regular 'til the place got
burnt down!"
[5] Have you ever returned to Florence, Chicago to play or visit? Florence is where Magic Slim had
played when he first started out. Florence is torn down. Florence had passed away. The old
building wasn't sitten up right. It was about to fall down so they had to take it down. If you could
do it all over again would you? "Sure, sure without a doubt. Yes, I sure would."
[15] In the mid-70s, Magic Slim & the Teardrops took over Hound Dog Taylor's Sunday afternoon
sessions at Florence's Lounge, 55th and Shields. These matinees soon became famous throughout
Chicago--later, throughout the world; Florence's was an exacting venue for a band that was nailing
down its own rowdy, exhilarating brand of Chicago blues. Here Nick blossomed into his full musical
maturity, learning to apply his unerring rhythmic sensibilities to Slim's traditional blues shuffles
and the blues-funk fusion of guest artists, as well as gaining the confidence to do some singing. The
ballad "As the Years Go Passing By" became Nick's signature; its gentle, melancholy melody line

and introspective lyrics seemed to fit the serious, almost mournful demeanor Nick presented both
onstage and off.
[6] For Slim, the blues have been the thrill of a lifetime. He still feels the tingle. "I still get scared
before I go onstage," claims the bluesman, whose gruff vocals and biting guitar lines sure don't
sound like the work of a guy with stage fright. "It's true. I might not be scared really, but I do get
nervous. It's like a tingle. Every time I walk into someplace I'm gonna play, I get that little tingle.
You never forget that -- and I never want to forget that. Because once you lose that, the thrill is
gone out of it, you know what I mean?"
1966: Slims recording career began with the recording of the 45 Single "Love My Baby"/
"Scufflin " , with the band Tr-Drops featuring: Magic Slim, lead guitar; Unknown (Chuck Rives?),
vocals; Robert Dancin' Perkins, bass; Paul Brown, tenor saxophone and either Willie Jones or Skin
Man Whitehead on drums. A number of singles with different line ups followed till the mid 70's.

[12] For the third opus of the Chicago/ The blues yesterday series, all the early sides by Magic
Slim were gathered. He recorded dozens of (generally excellent) CD's. But his very first 45s have
been strangely neglected. His style of no-nonsense West Side Chicago blues firmly rooted in the
Deep South tradition is already there in the 60's whether on songs, instrumentals or behind little
known harp player Richard "Little" Hite, who dwelled in the small Chicago clubs during a couple of
years. This Richard Hite is an African American who has nothing to do with Bob Hite, from Canned
Heat fame, as it has been sometimes written.
1994: [8] Surprisingly, this Chicago champion has been a resident of Lincoln, Neb., for the better
part of a decade. "It ain't no problem to live here [Chicago],I just got tired of it. After my kids was
grown, me and my wife said, 'Hell, let's go'. They had stuck me up twice, you know, and I didn't
want to get hurt or go to jail. so we left. Now I like it out there."

Magic on Blues
[4] Whos influenced you most in your music writing and playing? "Ill tell ya, I listened to all of it
but I didnt have no special reason because I didnt want to teach myself to play like nobody. I had
to get my own sound. But I would listen, to see which way I would go. But I wouldnt play like
nobody but nobody was tryin' to play like me so thats how I came to it." So youve got your own
guitar style tell me how you reproduce the sound of the slide guitar because it's different to
everybody else. "Well, I slide with my finger*. I dont use glass or nothing."
* just his fingers slipping up and down the strings so he's able to bend notes while he slides. (DvB).

[2] What do you find special about playing the blues? Well, I like the feelin', you know? Playing the
blues you're either asking a question or telling a story... It's just a feelin' that comes from the
heart!"
[1] Have you ever played music other than the blues? "Yes, I used to play bluegrass! There wasn't
enough feelin' in it for me, but I still play it when I'm by myself!"
[4] What kind of material were you playing in the early days? "Blue grass, country and western."
And what turned you on to blues? "I first heard a song by John Lee Hooker, 'Boogie Chillun' and
that was what turned me over to the blues."
[8] He unhesitatingly cites his artistic touchstones: "B.B. King- Sweet Sixteen, him and John Lee
Hooker - Boogie Chillen."

Magic Slim by Allain Mallaret

[4] Some music styles can be fads but the blues is always with us. Why do think that is? "I dont
know but a lot of guys playin the blues are putting too much funk in it. For me, Im not gonna
change and Im not gonna put that funk in. Im gonna stick with the blues." Thats good. So how
do you see the future of blues music, do you think it will carry on? Well, the bluesll never die. The
blues make it slow. You take a rock and roll song and itll be rolling but a month or two later you
dont hear nothing else. But the blues is steady coming on, steady coming on." We always get back
to the blues. "Yeah!"
[6] "I seen all the greats. All of 'em -- Otis Rush, Hound Dog Taylor, Freddie King, Howlin', Muddy
Waters, you name it. I was listening to them all. And I learned a little something from all of them."
[8] "I try to keep it simple. I don't want a whole lot of that fancy stuff, you know. I like to have it
straightforward. I think we're doin' pretty good. You got to play the Blues from your heart."
[1] What is your impression of the blues scene today? "I think the blues scene is getting a little
better. It's always up and down, but now more younger people are getting into the blues. One
thing that I dislike is that they're puttin' a little too much funk in it! there's several kinds of blues,
but they're puttin' a lot of rock in it, and I try to tell my son that all those different pedals down
there on the floor, you don't need that! And so far, he don't use it!"
[1] Who were some of the blues performers you liked to listen to when you were growing up? How
about today? "I liked to listen to all the blues, I like BB and Otis and Son Seals and all of 'em. I like
to listen to all of 'em, but I don't try to play like 'em! I mostly still listen to them too! I like the way
Stevie Ray Vaughan played too."

[5] Have you ever had a chance to play

with B.B. King? "Yeah, yeah, sure have.
Ray Charles, B.B. King and all of them. I
have been on show with them. We have
been on tour together. We rode the bus
for three weeks in Europe. I was with
them all up there - Ray Charles, Stevie
Ray Vaughn - a lot of them. Chuck
Berry. I've been around all of them. Me,
B.B. - all of them get drunk together on
the bus." Have you ever written lyrics
together? "We didn't do lyrics together
for one, because I didn't want them to
know what I was like."
[5] Slim has two sons. Do you see any
of your style in your kids? "Yeah! My
baby boy - he's 25 now. He plays when
I'm at home. He has his little gigs, you
know. He takes me down there with
him. Yes, he gets up on stage. 'You
know what, dad?' he says, 'I'm gonna
have to getcha now.' He's good. But,
when I get tired of him, I set him down.
Yeah! I set him down. I say alright I'm
tired of you now. I go way back and get
one of those old blues and tear the
house up with it. 'Cause he can't play
the old blues now. He says, 'Dad you
know I came out here with you. But I
don't want to make you play. ' I said,
'OK.' But he's good."
[5] What do you think of music today? "It's OK. It's a lot of a young whites and blacks playing the
blues. But one thing whites and blacks are doing - they put too much funk in it. It's not real They
put too much funk. Oh, it's all good. But they put a little too much funk in it. Stick to the roots when
your doing it. Most of them spiff it up. I can understand that. But, it don't sound half as good. You
hear something sometimes it sounds better. But your either gonna play the blues or your gonna
play rock or gonna play funk. Stick to what you do. I'm a blues player. I play up tempo blues. I play
ballad blues, belly rubbin' blues." Magic Slim asked if I knew what belly rubbin' blues is. He
explained, "When you dance close, you know. That's belly rubbin' blues."
[5] If there's anybody that you haven't played with, who would it be? "I don't know. Because I have
been with all the top players."

Repertoire, Gigs and Audiences

[1] I read somewhere that you know thousands/hundreds? of songs. How do you decide what to
play at your shows? Well, I call them to the public! If it's a dancin' crowd or an older crowd... You
know? I play 3 or 4 songs and judge the crowd after that! I don't really know how many songs I
know though!
[5] Magic Slim also had an encyclopedic repertoire of hundreds of blues songs in his head, giving
his live shows a charming impromptu quality.
I Got Money, I Aint Gonna Work Today
I Got Me Some Money YAll, I Aint Goin To Work Today
I Wont Get My Hands Bad, I Aint Gonna Work, No Way
[1] I really liked your CD "Alone and Unplugged". What led you to record this? "I could play a
whole week, every night and never play the same song twice... 'cept a request, I always play
requests! Just settin' around, ain't doin' nothing! *grin* Just went to the studio and did it! We was
playin' so the guys said let's get three or four more songs and make a CD, so I went for it!"
I Got A Crazy Woman, She Got A Mind Just Like A Goose
Yeah I Got A Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Woman, She Got A Mind Just Like A Goose
I Think I m Goin Out Buy Me A Toolbox, I Believe That Woman, She Got A Screw Loose
[1] Does your son sing and write as well
as play? Does he take after his father in
playing style? "I'm getting him to write!
I'm doing another CD the first of
February for Blind Pig! I'm gonna let him
put a number on there! I'm gonna let him
play it himself, but I told him he gotta
write it himself!* I think that's what he's
workin' on now! That's the same way I
got John Primer Started, and my brother,
too, 'cause you know he's got HIS own
CD out now! His CD's called "Don't You
Want A Man Like Me" on Wolf, out of
Vienna, Austria!"
* Young Mans Blues on CD Black
Tornado. (DvB).
[1] What does "Spider In My Stew"
mean? "That means when you've been
out - stayed out all night - and your ole
lady is about to kill ya! I found a spider
in my stew! But that's never happened to
me, but it's a true song! I hope it never
happen to me, but it IS a true song!
*hehe*"
Photo by Stefan Green

Dont Tell Me About Your Trouble, Ive Got Enough Trouble Of My Own
Dont Tell Me About Your Trouble, Ive Got Enough Trouble Of My Own
Walk Up This Mornin The Woman Im Lovin , She Was Gone
[1] Do you find many differences in the way audiences respond in other countries, such as South
America, Europe, America, etc? Yes! There's a difference in 'em! In different countries, like in
Europe, I don't know how they understand the music, they don't understand what you're saying,
but they tear the house UP when you finish a song! South America also! The people here in the
states, they love it, but they don't tear out as much as the people in a foreign country... You see the
crowd, they're nodding their heads and tappin' they feet and you can tell if you've been out there
as long as I have!
I Like The Older Women, The Young Women They Just Dont Understand
I Like The Older Women, The Young Women They Just Dont Understand
You Know The Older Women They Know, Just How To Threat There Men
[5] Do you plan on making more CD's in the future? "Well, I'm gonna try and do what I can as long
as I've got my health. The more records we make, when I retire I'll be able to have money coming
in. I ain't thinking about not retiring yet. I've got my health. I don't have heart trouble. I don't have
high blood pressure."

Photo by Bert Lek

[5] Do you have your kids help you write your lyrics? "When I write my lyrics down," he replied,
"like I am now, sittin' up in the hotel and I get tired of watching TV, I sit down and I write three or
four words down. Then later, like tomorrow, I'll write three or four more. I put them together that
way. After I get it all down, then I go and take something or Magic Slimadd something. You know,
just to make it rhyme. That's how I do it." Slim explains that he plays by ear.
You Must Be Lovin Someone Else, Cause You Sure Aint Lovin Me
You Must Be Lovin Someone Else, Cause You Sure Aint Lovin Me
You Know Strange Things Are Happenin, I Believe Theres Another Possum In My Tree.
Gonna Buy Me A Hound Dog, Gonna Train Him How To Track And Tree
Ill Gonna Find Me An Old Hound Dog, Gonna Train Him How To Track And Tree
Oooohhhhhhwwww Round About Midnight, I Will Get That Old Possum In My Tree
Gonna Buy Me A Stepladder, Just In Case My Dog Wont Bark
Aww Gonna Buy Me A Stepladder, Just In Case My Dog Wont Bark
Oohhww Round About Midnight, I Will Catch That Old Possum In The Dark
Say You Must Be Lovin Someone Else, Cause You Sure Aint Lovin Me
Say You Must Be Lovin Someone Else, Cause You Sure Aint Lovin Me
I Believe Theres Another Possum In My Tree
[8] "You know, I want to tell everybody: 'Hey! It's the public that keeps the Blues alive. Y' all hang
in there!'."
[8] Slim believes in gaining respect the old fashioned way, earning it, one crowd at a time.
[SESC Vila Mariana - BRASIL (2010)] Anything can happen. Anything can happen. I dont have a
set list! I play two or three songs for the public and see how the public react. Ill take it from
there.
I got the Blues, deep down in my heart...
I love you baby, please dont let us apart,
Im gonna play the blues,
Play the blues from my heart...
[4] What do you think of it here in August, at the 21st Great British R&B Festival at Colne,
Lancashire? I didn't know I was doing two shows before I left the States, but I dont feel bad about
it because Im playing with some friends that I know. But one thing that theyd better have is Mr
Jack Daniels. No Jack Daniels no show!! Ha, ha, ha!!"
[17] If it ain't broke - don't fix it! Magic Slim plays the straight ahead electrified Mississippi based
blues that people took to Chicago in the 50s. They still love him in the clubs and concert halls and
he sells more records than any of his contemporaries because when he cranks up the band and
starts pounding into good old fashioned thundering blues - there's no-one to touch him.

Magic Slim & The Teardrops

[13] [14] And some special performances

On Band Members

Nick Holt by Allen Kirk

[15] The driving, intense sound of Magic Slim & the Teardrops is in its ascendancy as one of the
most exciting on the contemporary blues scene. Integral to this sound is the musical tension
between Slim's fierce, upper-register leads and the booming strength of Nick Holt's bass patterns.
Nick is Slim's brother, but aside from his height--both men tower at about six foot eight--he's as
different from the flamboyant lead guitarist as a brother can be. Slim stalks the stage like a
prizefighter, guitar slung over one shoulder with a nonchalant arrogance, and pours over 300
pounds of intensity into wrenchingly endless, screaming solos from his long-suffering guitar strings.
While this is going on, Nick stands silently toward the back of the stage, looking solemn and
vaguely distracted as he walks his fingers across his fretboard with deceptive ease. During the
break, while the gargantuan figure of Slim takes command at the bar or on the street outside the
club, leading the between-sets party with raucous laughter and ribald humor, Nick sits quietly at a
table with friends. He says very little, but occasionally breaks into a shy smile as he accepts a
compliment for his playing. His taciturn, self-effacing personality belies the strength with which he
plays, and it's a reason why he remains one of Chicago's best-kept musical secrets.

Alabama Jr. Pettis in his purple Zoo Bar T-Shirt.

[8] "I ain't never found another second guitar player like Daddy Rabbit. I'll tell you, one that's close
Jon McDonald. I like him and Michael Dotson."
John Primer earned Slim's highest praise "Simply. He plays Blues."
Dick Shurman: I always thought that of all Slim's second guitarists, "Daddy Rabbit" knew the least
guitar and sounded the best in the band. I also used to tease him because he looked a LOT like
Anwar Sadat. I used to think he was short because I'd see him on stage with Slim and his equally

tall brothers, so it was surprising the first time we talked when I saw he was taller than my 5' 9."
He also played bass, sometimes with J.B. Hutto and also I think on that bad 1967 Little Walter final
session. Notably is the material Steve Cushing recorded by the Teardrops including some of his
vocals. I always got a kick out of his live version of "I Want Some, I Need Some" (based loosely on a
Willie Mabon song) and his trademark question "is we got any single women in the house?" I never
remember him being ornery, always fun to run into and hear.
[16] To the avid blues fan, the name
Alabama Jr. (Daddy Rabbit) has been
synonymous with that of Magic Slim & The
Teardrops for 10 years, From 1973 to 1983.
Alabama Jr. was a staple of the Teadrops
band providing sympathetic backing to the
driving lead of Magic Slim and pulsating
bass of his brother, Nick Holt. Coleman
Pettis Jr. (his real name) was born in
Alabama in the mid 1930s. At the age of 8
his mother taught him to play the guitar,
which he practiced sporadically throughout
his childhood. When there wasn't a guitar
handy for him to play on, he would make
his own by winding bothe ends of some
baling wire around a long stick and
plucking out whatever sound he could get. By the time he was a teenager, he was playing at local
fish fries, first as a solo guitarist, then adding another guitar and playing as a part of a duo, for the
then grand sum of $5. - per night. In 1952 he moved to Chicago, where he was eventually to meet
and play with many of the great musicians who were building the foundations of what was to
become known as "Chicago Blues". On his arrival in Chicago, Alabama Jr. became an avid club
goer, finding out where the hottest blues was being played, and going initially, just to listen.

By 1956, he was playing bass with Little Walter, at various clubs on the Southside, and one or two
in Joliet. One club that Jr. hung out at was Turner's Lounge at 40th and Indiana, where he met and
played with Lee Jackson, Big Walter Horton, J. B. Hutto, Hayes ware and others. Lee Jackson
became a major influence on his career by encouraging him to keep playing the guitar. After his
stint playing bass with Little Walter, he joined Lee Jackson for three years on rhythm guitar at a
small club called Tony's Blue Lounge. By 1973 Alabama Jr. had some solid playing experience
behind him. He had recorded with J. B. Hutto on J. B.'s firs Delmark album called "Hawk Squat"?
snd had built up a solid reputation as a fine and original accompanist.
One night in '73, he went to hear a band called Mr. Pitiful & The Teardrops at the club named The
Bo Weavil at 29th and Wentworth. He liked what he heard there and began to go often, sometimes
to sit in, sometimes just to listen. Magic Slim was in the band at the time, and was soon to become
the band leader because Mr. Pitiful, who played bass, was about to quit. Slim liked Alabama Jr.'s
style of playing and after Mr. Pitiful left the band went through a few changes before Slim
eventually hired Junior and changed the band name to magic Slim & The Teardrops. In '73 Slim and
the band took over the farmed Sunday afternoon jams at Florence's from Hound Dog Taylor and
began to estabilish themselves as the hottest, tightest blues band in Chicago. Alabama Jr.s
reputation grew in this band. Slim had found the perfect complement to his sound in Junior's
precise rhythm playing. The key to this successful combination was due to his ability to know the
proper notes to play in order to enhance the sound of the other band members. As he explains, "a
lot of people ask me what kind of chords am I playing? You don't play ordinary chords like most
guitar players. But the type of chords that I play is what I call a down chord. I make a flat 9th chord
which most chordmen don't make that type of chord. I try to make Slim's guitar sound by blending
in with a 9th chord, with a Jimmy Reed beat on it. What it does, it given a heavy background
between the lead guitar and the bass."
It was this conscious creativity and expertise that made Alabama Jr. such a fine musician
The line-up at the time (1980) for the Teardrops was a classic one..Slim on guitar and vocals,
Coleman Pettis on second guitar.a rhythm guitarist so good, Slims brother Nick Holt on bass,
and Nate Applewhite on drums. Alligator head honcho Bruce Iglauer stated in the liner notes of
Raw Magic, these guys werent the best at what they did with their respective instruments, but
when they played together, the results were magical...
[1] What was your relationship with John Primer? He was with you so long, were you more than
just bandmates? "We were band members, but we were just like brothers... and we still are!
Somethin' happened and he had to quit, and I hate to see him go, but a man's gotta do what a
man's gotta do!"
[5] Do you ever get in a quarrel in your band? "Do we fight? Yeah, we fight every day. We don't
physically fight. We don't do that."
[15] A whiff of violence, a touch of grace: Magic Slim and John Primer play both ends of the blues.
Only an extraordinarily gifted artist or band can encompass both ends of this existential spectrum
at one time. In recent years, Chicago's Magic Slim has teamed up with fellow guitarist John Primer
to create music that, at its best, fuses a violent aggressiveness unmatched since Howlin' Wolf with
a shimmering melodic sensitivity passed down from some of the most influential guitar masters of
Chicago blues. As they and their band, the Teardrops, develop, local audiences are witnessing a
creative process as old as the blues itself and as fresh and original as the latest song.

John The Real Deal Primer

Primers years with Lawhorn left him with a deeply intuitive melodic imagination and an
exceptionally sensitive approach to tone. His solos are developed with crispness and a sense of
musical logic sadly lacking in the work of many other, better-known players. Primer's voice, imbued
with nuances picked up from Waters, is expressive and versatile as well, capable of doing justice to
traditional blues standards and soulful pop alike. This contrast, between Slim's raw energy and
Primer's graceful sensitivity, is the essence of the blues at its most profound. It is evident in
everything the band plays.
Primer is almost as fast as Slim, but has a light, deft touch that incorporates the most basic
elements of blues tradition even as it ventures into more pop-oriented, post-R & B ideas. John's
solos refer clear to the influence of Sammy Lawhorn, with their shimmering purity and melodic
sophistication. John Primer is the only guitarist Slim has ever had who can carry his full share of the
vocal duties. His voice, though gentle and melodic, has a gritty toughness, especially evident in his
treatment of traditional numbers. He interprets even the slowest and saddest of ballads with
strength, determination, and a puckish sense of humor.
Either one could, and both often do, put on a thrilling blues performance alone. Together they
complement and balance each other as few other contemporary musicians do; John is yin to Slim's
yang, providing an affirmation of hope and eventual peace in the face of the turmoil, violence, and
invasive force behind Slim's musical onslaught. The blues does more than come alive in the hands
of these two contemporary masters; it reasserts its own life and is reborn in the crucible of Slim's
fiery passion and the calming glow of John's musical light. It's one of the most emotion ally
satisfying and exhilarating experiences to be had in modern blues.

Michael Scott, Nick Holt, Magic Slim, John Primer for the cover of Gravel Road by James Fraher
If you want to get just one studio recording of the Teardrops to sample their sound, this is probably
the one to get, recorded before long-time rhythm guitarist John Primer went solo. It is anchored by
two great songs--"Cold Women With Warm Hearts" and Slim's slap in the face treatment of
"Mustang Sally." A particularly potent studio edition of The Teardrops. On this album the band
comes close to capturing the late-night ambiance of Slim's live sets with a considerable
contributions of second guitarist John Primer, who handles vocals on three cuts (including covers of
Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and Eugene Church's "Pretty Girls Everywhere").
Nate was replaced by Michael Scott. Michael was born 29th September 1955 in Little Rock
Arkansas and made his way to Chicago in in 1961. He played with The Gloria Hardiman Band and
Professor Eddie Lusk's Blues Revue a.o. Dick Shurman in the liner notes: "Westsider Michael Scott
plays the kind of basic pile driving drums needed to match and fuel Slim's fire."

Jerry "Bam Bam" Porter, was

born 19th June 1962, took
the place of drummer
Michael Scott on "Magic
Blues - The Blues of the
Magic Man" ,recorded in
Austria in 1991. Porter
toured with Buddy Guy for
14 years, toured shortly with
Magic Slim and the
Teardrops, has shared the
stage with Eric Clapton,
Ronnie Baker Brooks and
James Cotton.

[1] "I have 2 new guys after John Primer. My guitar player is Michael Dotson, a very talented young
man, and I like him a lot! My new drummer is Allen Kirk, and every time I get ready for him, he's
right there where I am!
[8] "Al Kirk's a Bad Boy now! Oh Yeah. When I first hired him, he was peckin' on that drums. 'Pop
that snare I told him. You can throw them other parts away as long as you pop that snare'."

[9] "Tell me a few things about your meet with Magic Slim and the Teardrops, which memory from
him makes you smile?" Drummer Allen Kirk: "Ha.....And you know it! Just thinking about the Magic
man all together or at any time makes me smile. No doubt about it. That man is the real deal.
When I first saw Slim and his band pumpin' it up and throwin' down. I went "MY GOD. THIS SHIT IS
AWESOME". I think it was Slim, Daddy Rabbit, Nick Holt and Nate Applewhite. "Lawd have mercy".
Talk about blowin' your hair back....Smokin'. The Giants of the blues. Four big motor scooters up on
the stage layin' some blues so strong you couldn't get through with a tank. (Ha ha LOL). While
working with Slim we worked hard every night and twice as hard on Sunday. Pumpin' the blues like
a Mack Truck rollin' down the highway. Slim sittin' on his stool playing nice and cool. Laid back.
Then all of a sudden the feeling hit's him. He jumps up off his stool. Screams "Ho!" then all hell
breaks loose and you better watch out because him and that Jazzmaster is about to go ta' work.
One story. We were on tour early on with Michael Dotson on 2nd Guitar. Michael was playing
awesome. Every show was a killer. He was kinda playing rings around Slim. It was a great tour.
Slim was very happy, But one day while on our way to the last gig. Slim said "Be careful now. I can
play like that too! The last night of the tour, with Lil' Ed and his Blues Imperials and Deitra Farr.
Slim takes his guitar to his room. Now he never does that. At the show we were humpin', bumpin'
and pumpin' as usual. The crowd was creamin'...And Michaels guitar was at fever pitch. Man, that
boy was hot! But like I said. Slim sittin' on his stool. Got the feelin'.... Jumped up.....He snatch his
guitar and went to playin' some Magic Slim Guitar Licks that sent the crowd into a manic
frenzy...Right in the middle of some blazin' stuff he threw is guitar down.....Ran over to Michael
and scream at him "I TOLD YOU M***** *****R to watch out". The crowd went to an even
feverous pitch and we all laughed so hard that we couldn't play the song. That was a beautiful
thing. Everybody loved it."

Shedrick Davis in a Facebook chat with Dave van Bladel on Magic Slim:
"He was The Real Deal. I played with him at "The Cuddle Inn" 2pm till 2am Nate Applewhite drums
Nick Holt bass... Mid to Late 80's. Pete Allen played with Everybody (Jr Wells, Buddy Guy etc.) and
John Primer played regular gigs. I just got to play at The Cuddle Inn because he wouldn't show up
till late....5 or 6pm. I was mostly the only other guitarist awake at that hour of day!! I just played
Dunta Dunta rythm... In fact what all the other guitarist did with Slim was fill it out and offer a
little contrast here and there, play a couple to warm up the stage...Then stay out of Slims way!...
Later John McDonald got the gig... I played with Mike Dotson also. We were pals.. It was a small
scene those days. I used to hire Pete Allen for gigs, we played with Mott Duko, he was Wolf's
drummer in the latter days.... Slim was kinda willfully ignorant ...let you break in on a dollar at that
time of day."
Dave: "Slim and Nick were + and - poles. Nick loved his brother! Like Slim and Pettis, Primer and
Slim went together like peas and carrots, the combis sounded so good."
Shedrick: "Nathan Applewhite? Nate looked like Albert Collins... But he was very quiet and very
confident."
Dave: "How was his drummin' ?"
Shedrick: "Very tight pocket! They could play 3 piece, no problems."
Dave: "On record it sounds like he's always there on time when Magic is on the change."
Shedrick: "All about the rhythmic pocket... Like a washing machine or train or horse trott..!!!!
That's the Afro iambic tempo for story telling..."
Dave: "What was Pete Allen's trademark? He had complete different qualities than those of Daddy
Rabbit or Primer."
Shedrick "Pete was always cool.. Underrated. Could play anything. He liked being Funky. John
Primer is much more basic. Sammy Lawhorn / Muddy style mixed with Eddie Taylor style..."
Dave: "Too funky for Morris? As a matter of fact Shawn's play sounds similar to Pete's from time to
time....."
Shedrick: "I met his son. He's very different in performance than his father but I like his guitar
sound. He seems confused. He tries to be too cute or smooth.. No grit, no garlic yet!"
Dave: He's searchin'... when he loves the variety in his audiences as his father did - big or small - ,
he will be stronger. I saw them 2015 in Belgium. Shawn was more a funky bluesplayer than a
bellydancin' blues man at that moment. Allen and Russell were brilliant. Levi delivered added value
too. The funk and good vibes splashed from the stage, and Russell did one step further, Cap'n Kirk
kept the rhythms hipshakin' tight. Shawn flourished only two numbers, before he left the stage in
the middle of a song. He just came back to tell the audience there were CD's for sale and that he
would sign them next to the stage. I never saw Morris do such a thing. Sons of great fathers have a
difficult time in any profession.
Shedrick: "Yes ... Your Right!!! But I'm not sure some of these kids understand their fathers
work...."
Dave: "Jon McDonald sounds also nice, not the - triple A - Primer level, but... no pedals! Like The
Black Tornado said, don't copy, make your own style, write your own lyrics and use only your
instruments, not that technique stuff. It's a possibility, but it keeps you too far away from your
feelin' and you never play'm blues as it should be. Keep it simple."
Shedrick: I Love Jon's play but he can be a ....
Dave: "Was Timothy Taylor around in those years?"
Shedrick: "I played with him and Eddie(Jew Town)Burks. He is a Sweet Guy.... Most of the
Mississippi cats were sweet manchildren ..."
Dave: "Not that tight pocket as Nate though.."
Shedrick: "NO! Nate was a Drum Lord..."
Dave: "As Fred Below!"
Shedrick: "You got It!!! Sam Lay, etc. Theses kinda drummers you wanted to please..."

Dave: " 'The Touch' is still around.."

Shedrick: " 'The Touch' is my longtime friend....Very cool very dynamic and subtle...Can play at a
whisper and swing!!!
[8] Slim scouted Nick's
replacement - when
his brother took some
personal time - Danny
Oonnor at Lee's
Unleaded on the
South Side.

"He never played no

blues before, just
R&B. But he listens,
and that's the most
important thing. One
hell of a man."
Tour manager Michael Blakemore, Danny OConnor, Magic Slim, Allen Kirk.

Jon McDonald and Chris Biedron

Sweden Rock Festival - 2004. Biedron, McDonald, Slim, Taylor.

Vernal Sticks Taylor

[1] And I got another guitar player, gonna be in my band before too long, that's my baby son! He's
20, he'll be 21 this year, and that's what I'm tryin' to wait on! He's a---of good player, and I'm
gonna let him take my place, but I'm still gonna be the band!"

People on Magic Slim

[7] "I have never been disappointed by a Magic
Slim performance. There have been times I
wished he would have played more but he has
consistently delivered entertaining, top-notch
shows. Maybe the music, or the style, or the
show wasn't perfect but it was always real"
sounding, in-your-face blues. This show was no
different. Magic Slim and the Teardrops is the
quintessential Chicago bar room blues band.
Slim's gutbucket guitar playing and gruff vocals
have an inspired, rough and ready, shoot from
the hip quality that is both appealing and
rattling. Magic "Morris Holt" Slim, along with
his brother Nick Holt on bass, tower over the
band and are always ready to play and party
(both before and after a show). The first thing
Slim said when he arrived backstage prior to his
set and was asked what he wanted to drink
was, "give me a whiskey or gin." He seemed
genuinely disappointed when he found out
there was only beer. Michael Dotson, the
second guitar player in the Teardrops, said with
a grin he was surprised Slim didn't have it put
in his contract like he has been know to do in
the past (have whiskey available for him).
Photo by Bert Lek
Later you could see Nick Holt out dancing in front of the Lonnie Brooks stage just like one of fans.
These guys are simply the best at what they do -- playing unrefined and unadulterated electric
Chicago bar room blues."
[3] Magic Slim is the greatest living proponent of the intense, electrified, Mississippi-to-Chicago
blues style that spawned much of the music played by modern blues artists and rockers. Its no
wonder that Magic Slim and the Teardrops, considered by many "the last real Chicago blues band,"
have become one of the busiest and best-loved blues bands around.
[5] As Blues Revue wrote, "Whoever the house band in blues heaven may be, even money says
theyre 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.
[3] He recorded his first album in 1977, Born Under A Bad Sign, for the French MCM label. During
the 80s, Slim released titles on Alligator, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won the first of his
five W.C. Handy Awards. Critics often remark on the consistency of Slims performances, reflected
in his bands yearly nominations for W.C. Handy Award as "Blues Band of the Year."

[3] Slims first album on Blind Pig Records, Gravel Road, was released in 1990. Its title track was
one of the first tunes he learned to play on his baling wire guitar in Mississippi. Billboard magazine
said, "The well-traveled Chicago blues singer/guitarist is near the top of his form on this delightful
album, which comes close to capturing the late-night ambience of Slims live set."
[3] In 1996, Slims career came full-circle with the release of Scufflin on Blind Pig, the title track
being a remake of the song which began his recording career thirty years earlier. Living Blues said
the album "should bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded listener." 1998s Black Tornado
was released to similar accolades in both the blues and mainstream press. An Associated Press
review noted that "Magic Slim has never been better than on Black Tornado and that is a lot to
say." Downbeat called Slim "a true all star; a guitarist of considerable authority whose lines snap
like a crocodiles mighty jaw and a singer with a persuasive capacity for wrenching every bit of
emotion out of his lyrics."
[11] Magic Slim has released a pile of albums, all of them true to his group's house-rocking credo.
The idea on "Black Tornado" was to hook him up with producer Dick Shurman and get Slim to
record tunes he hadn't committed to wax yet. With a tight version of the Teardrops aboard (the
ubiquitous Nick Holt on bass and vocals, Michael Dotson on rhythm, Allen Kirk on drums, and Slim's
son Shawn Holt making a guest appearance on "Young Man's Blues"), Slim turns in a solid effort
here. But perhaps the biggest change this time around is the inclusion of four original tunes from
Slim, big news for a combo that many consider to be the ultimate blues cover band. Counting Nick
Holt's "Playin' with My Mind" and Shawn Holt's "Young Man's Blues," the original material is up to
the 50-percent mark, making this their most adventuresome outing to date.

[3] Snakebite, Slims fourth album for Blind Pig Records, was released in 2000. Critical reaction was
typified by this quote in Jazz & Blues Report: "Slim sings and plays at a level that makes this among
the best albums in a career spanning over three decades" Perhaps Living Blues said it best: "A
Magic Slim disc is the next best thing to a Saturday night in a backstreet juke along with a half-pint
of whiskey, a pig-ear sandwich, and a sexy companion. Its best if you can gather together as many
of these accessories as possible - but the only indispensable one is the music, and this disc delivers
it in force."
[6] After honing his chops for more than
a decade in Chicago's rough-'n'-tumble
clubs, Slim began recording in the mid'70s and hasn't turned back. Over 25
years, he's issued more than a dozen
albums of raucous, get-down blues,
culminating in last year's Snakebite, his
most acclaimed work. Like all his
albums, it features his rasping bark -think Howling Wolf -- and dynamic,
hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye guitar
work. Even Slim calls Snakebite his finest
moment. I just put more into that one
than any of the other ones, I tried to
make it better than the rest. I tried to
play better, I tried to sing better, I tried
to make the songs better. I wanted it to
be the best." Which doesn't mean that
Slim is ready to pack up his trick bag. I
don't wanna give it up, I like it too much.
Even after all these years, I still like to
get to the club early and hang out. I like
to get a feel for the place and have a
drink or two -- maybe a little Wild
Turkey or some Tanqueray." After all, there's more than one kind of tingle.
[3] With the release of his CD, Raising The Bar, Magic Slim and his label Blind Pig (often
represented by Dixiefrog in Europe) are celebrating their twenty year collaboration. The album
proposes an outstanding collection of older and newer songs culled from Slims vast repertoire.
From R&B gems like "Breaking Up Somebodys Home" and Little Miltons "4:59 A.M." to Roosevelt
Sykes "Sunny Road Blues" and J.B. Lenoirs "Mama Talk To Your Daughter" to his own perennial
crowd favorites, "Shame", "Do You Mean It" and "Treat Me The Way You Do", Slim once again
proves that when it comes to complete mastery of the blues in all its aspects and truly genre
defining power of performance, he has few if any equals on the scene today. The titles meaning is
double-edged; over the last two decades, Slim and the Teardrops have been constantly raising the
bar for other blues bands with their consistently incendiary performances, and whether its a
college town tavern, out of the way roadhouse or international blues festival, patrons go home
feeling like the joint was razed - Slim and the boys give their all every night.

[5] 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."
[5] 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."

Allen Kirk, Nick Holt, Steve Freund, Michael Dotson

[8] Dick Shurman: "Magic Slim & The Teardrops personify the spirit of a sweaty hole-in-the-wall
Chicago blues club."
[8] Tom Hyslop: "Slim's singing is commanding yet nuanced; his huge, earthy, wet voice is one of
the best in the genre. His devastating vibrato comes strictly from his hand - and he has a virtuoso's
ability to bend time to his will, taking risks that invariably pay off. His gutsy phrasing and intuitive
knowledge of what seems to be every lowdown blues phrase in existence - not to mention the bent
and smeared English he puts on virtually every note - make his playing inimitable."
[8] Poppa Chubby: "I worked on about 25 records and "Blue Magic" is by far the best I produced.
And it's for one reason: Slim. He's the real deal. Plain and simple."

[5] Blue Magic is the fifth release by Magic Slim and the Teardrops for Blind Pig Records. It was
produced by Popa Chubby and recorded in Blind Pig's vintage Chicago warehouse.Slim likes
working with Popa Chubby. "Chubby is a crazy guy like me," he said, "We come together." Slim
plays songs four to five times while in the studio. Chubby had once said to him, "Give it your best
shot and lets see what it is." On this last CD, Slim says, he only had to play one song twice.
[5] Magic Slim, a revered and towering figure in the field of traditional Chicago blues, died at the
age of 75 on February 21, 2013 in a Philadelphia hospital. Magic Slim 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. He 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.

Magic on Magic
[5] Standing well over six feet, Slim fills the room with his slash and burn guitar technique and
booming vocals. Slim tells me he writes his own lyrics. His favorite guitar is the Jazz Master. He
owns four guitars now, but about three or four others were stolen. What is Slim's all time favorite
singer? "It's just like a favorite song. I know so many songs. I just love listening to blues, period."
[5] Favorite drink? "Bourbon Whiskey, Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey. When you drink good
whiskey, drink water with it. It don't make me sick. Last 12 to 15 years it's been Jack Daniels, Wild
Turkey, and Gin. My three things. Comin' up in Mississippi, I used to drink corn whiskey, white
whiskey." What are your favorite foods were? "Beef, chicken, fish, and ribs. I like all kinds of
foods."
[8] Magic Slim: "I'm madder than a one-eyed Russian and crazy as a constipated Gypsy."

And You Know That!

Some rare musical links

The Magic Man - I catch you on your way back down Recorded by taper with tapedeck from
the musicians amps, by an unknown source in Club Fasching, Kungsgatan 63, Stockholm,
Sweden on 18th March 1987. The beautiful voice and the characteristic guitar from Magic
Slim, with the Teardrops (probably Nick Holt Bass, Nathan Applewhite Drums, John Primer
Guitar)
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95440753460799
1/?type=3&theater
Magic Slim - She's mine A track from the LP: Do The Chicken - Blues Obscurities Volume 7.
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/93321266672747
8/?type=3&theater
Magic Slim & The Teardrops @ The 1125 Club.
Recorded live at The 1125 Club, located at the corner of 59th & May in Chicago in 1974.
Magic Slim & The Teardrops play an extended version of Don't Burn Down The Bridge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHWAPnZqfW8

Magic Slim at Chess Studios May 5 1975

This is the session that produced Slim's Mean Mistreater 45: Wonder Why & Teardrop on the
flip. Magic Slim, lead guitar, Daddy Rabbit (Coleman Pettis Jr.) second guitar, Nick Holt, bass,
and Steve Cushing, drums. The tune heard here, Slim's version of the Wes Montgomery
classic, Bumpin' was cut at an unissued session is September 1975...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkcPesdGjBE
Magic Slim Fever From The Chicago Blues Festival Tour 8th December 1978, Paris-France,
Mutualite. That show featured Alabama Jr. Pettis, Nick Holt, Nathan Applewhite, Lafayette
Leake, John Littlejohn and Magic Slim. Recorded by taper from the Mutualite balcony with a
Sony TC 150 recorder.
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95168432488031
2/?type=3&theater
Casette deck recording from Magic Slim - 01 It's My Own Fault
Casette deck recording by taper from Magic Slim & The Teardrops (Alabama Jr. Pettis Guitar, Nick Holt - Bass, Nate Applewhite - Drums) recorded close to the players in a small
club (Chapelle des Lombards), 19 Rue de Lappe, 75011 Paris, France on 24th July 1981 for a
small audience of only 25 people!!! Sound is coming from musicians amps.
The France tour promoted the in 1980 recorded Isabelle Records LP "In The Heart Of The
Blues".
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95496313455243
1/?type=3&theater
Casette deck recording Magic Slim - 02 Someday - 03 Worried Life Blues - 04 In The Heart
Of The Blues.
Casette deck recording by taper from Magic Slim & The Teardrops (Alabama Jr. Pettis Guitar, Nick Holt - Bass, Nate Applewhite - Drums) recorded close to the players in a small
club (Chapelle des Lombards), 19 Rue de Lappe, 75011 Paris, France on 24th July 1981 for a
small audience of only 25 people!!! Sound is coming from musicians amps.
The France tour promoted the 1980 recorded Isabelle Records LP "In The Heart Of The
Blues".
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95496437788564
0/?type=3&theater
Magic Slim & The Teardrops Recording at Buddy Guys Legends June 3, 1991 for WXRT-FM
Radio broadcast
1 Before You Accuse Me
2 Where Did You Stay Last Night?
3 Not the Same Person
4 Gambler
5 Possum In My Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd-HMyFbINo
The Teardrops. The Teardrops, recorded live by taper with the use of a soundboard casette
deck on 8th July 1994 in The Haunt 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca NY.
01. Down To Virginia
02. Honest I Do
03. If You Love Me Like You Say
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95388759465998
5/?type=3&theater
The Magic Man. Magic Slim & The Teardrops, recorded live by taper with the use of a
soundboard casette deck on 8th July 1994 in The Haunt 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca NY.

05. Red House

06. That Will Never Do
07. Just In Case We Both Were Wrong
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95389521799255
6/?type=3&theater
Magic Slim & The Teardrops. Recorded live by taper with the use of a soundboard casette
deck on 8th July 1994 in The Haunt 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca NY.
16. Sail On
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95390052132535
9/?type=3&theater
The Teardrops - 01 - I Don't Want To Go 02 - Ain't No Sunshine
(Jake Dawson, Nick Holt, Earl Howell)
Tapedeck recording by taper from the beginning of the second set from Magic Slim & The
Teardrops May 12, 1996 B.L.U.E.S on Halstead, Chicago, Illinois, USA. (The first set was with
The Allman Brothers Band member and founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule:
Warren Haynes) The instruments are in your face, but the vocals are lower. Nice recording!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsfGKtVOvdQ
Magic Slim & The Teardrops working on "Stormy Monday" through a noisy crowd.
Magic Slim - Vocals and Guitar; Jake Dawson - Guitar; Nick Holt - Bass; Earl Howell - Drums.
Tapedeck recording by taper from the second set from Magic Slim & The Teardrops May 12,
1996 B.L.U.E.S on Halstead, Chicago, Illinois, USA
(The first set was with The Allman Brothers Band member and founding member of the jam
band Gov't Mule: Warren Haynes) The instruments are in your face, but the vocals are lower.
Nice recording!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZjI-UoLFt4
The Teardrops - 01 I Wonder Why 02 I Got A Strange Feeling
Tapedeck recording from The Teardrops April 30, 2001 Grandesynth, Paris, before the Magic
Man came to the bandstand. A few days before they played at the Bern Jazz & Bluesfestival
on May 3. Danny O'Connor bass, Allen Kirk drums, Michael Dotson vocals, guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amtO4a5a_Ew
The Teardrops - Honey Bee. Recorded by taper with a tapedeck, upstairs on the balcony,
about 25 feet from the stage on November 25, 2006 at the Little Fox, Redwood City, CA.
before the Magic Man came to The Bandstand.
Jon McDonald- guitar & vocals
Vernal "Sticks" Taylor- drums
Chris Biedron bass
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95619478776259
9/?type=3&theater
Magic Slim & The Teardrops, featuring Deb "Dar Baby" Seitz "Turtle Blues" Recorded by
taper in the audience on 6th March 2009 in The Kingston Mines Chicago IL
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95670742771133
5/?type=3&theater
The Teardrops - 01 What can you do - 02 Come On In This House
March 2010 France Tour. The Teardrops, Before The Magic Man Came To The Bandstand.
Recorded by taper with tapedeck on 17th March 2010 at Jazz Club Lionel Hampton, Paris,
France: John McDonald - vocals and guitar, Andre Howard - bass, Brian Jones - drums.
https://www.facebook.com/dave.vanbladel/videos/vb.100001162598836/95721473766060
4/?type=3&theater

Magic Slim And The Teardrops recorded at Jim Thorpe, 325 Maury Road, Penn's Peak
Philadelphia on 30th June 2012 as opener for Johnny Winter
01. Let's Stick It Out
02. Magic Slim Intro
03. Living In My Neighborhood
04. Just in Case We're Both Wrong
05. Shame
06. Highway Is My Home
07. Going To Mississippi
08. 634-5789
09. Talk To Me Baby
10. Feel Like Breakin' Up Somebody's Home
11. Part Time Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdthw42kfLY
Shawn Holt & The Teardrops Cross Cut Saw _ Wang dang doodle
Hookrock Diepenbeek BE 2015. Bad picture, not good of sound, with interruptions, but still
very worth it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1piC9ZfK-X4