Photo: Photobra · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Magic Slim
Person · male · United States · Yalobusha County · born 1937 · died 2013 · recording since 1977
American blues musician (1937–2013)
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Also known as Morris Holt · Мэджик Слим
Timeline
13 events▣ Album 10◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1930s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Born on a Bad Sign
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography490 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1376824182
Biography
Morris Holt (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013), known as Magic Slim, was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf to Chicago, developing his own place in the Chicago blues scene.
In 2017, Magic Slim was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Biography
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 (by six months) 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 band, the Teardrops. They played in the dim, smoke-filled juke joints popular in Chicago in the 1970s on bandstands barely large enough to hold the musicians.
Slim's recording career began in 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 label MCM. During the 1980s, Slim released albums for Alligator, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won his first W. C. Handy Award. In 1980 he recorded a cover version of "Mustang Sally".
In 1983, the guitarist John Primer joined the Teardrops and played with the group for 13 years. Releases included Spider in My Stew on Wolf Records – which included the title track "Spider in My Stew", composed by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Buster Benton - and a 1996 Blind Pig release, Scufflin', which presented the post-Primer lineup with the recent 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. He was frequently accompanied by his son Shawn Holt, an accomplished guitarist and singer.
In 2003, Magic Slim and the Teardrops won the W. C. Handy Award as Blues Band of the Year for the sixth time. They released a live performance on CD and DVD in August 2005 entitled Anything Can Happen.
Slim died at a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 2013, at age 75. He had health problems that had worsened while he was on tour several weeks earlier. His manager had stated that bleeding ulcers had sent Slim to the hospital, but that he also suffered from heart, lung and kidney problems.
In May 2013, Magic Slim was posthumously awarded another Blues Music Award in the category Traditional Blues Male Artist. In 2017, Magic Slim was posthumously inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 19 | 79.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 16 | 85.4th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 36 | 75.4th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (16 release groups · 10 studio albums)
Albums · 10
1977 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 40:18
A1Going Down Slow7:12A2Born on a Bad Sign6:52A3Born in Missouri6:40B1Slim's Bump4:20B2Buddy Buddy Friend3:50B3Born Down the Bridge6:27B4Rock Me Baby4:571979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 39:32
A1Highway Is My Home4:28A2Living in My Neighborhood4:43A3I Love You Baby4:15A4Country Girl6:13B1Man or Mouse3:43B2Help Me3:49B3I’m Mad3:33B4Tell Me Baby3:43B5The Sky Is Crying5:051980 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 40:18
A1In the Heart of the Blues7:28A2Mustang Sally8:57A3Worried Life Blues3:56B1Don’t Tell Me About Your Trouble6:22B2I’m a Man5:38B3Walking Whole Night Long4:30B4If It’s Too Late3:271981 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 38:38
A1Grave Road4:10A2You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Got6:35A3Mama Talk to Your Daughter4:25A4Ain’t Doing Too Bad4:38B1Walking Back Streets5:25B2A Woman Treats a Good Man So Bad4:55B3Cold Woman4:25B4She Left Me4:051993 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 43:12
1Feel So Good7:052I Made Up My Mind5:033Mother-in-law Blues3:044Woke Up This Morning8:565Memo Blues4:136Bad Feelin'3:447You Say That You Love Me Honey4:578Reconsider Baby6:101995 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 53:35
1Mixed Up About You2:562Bring Me My Shotgun4:393Boogie Chillun2:354A Thousand Miles From Nowhere4:445Iky & Mikey2:076Don’t Look Now I’ve Got the Blues3:597Tough Enough3:258I’m a Poor Man but a Good Man3:129Sadie3:3610Bring Your Fine Self Home3:5111Bye Bye Pretty Baby2:5612You Laugh and Grin4:4713A Little Instrumental2:3614Nothin’ for Nothin’3:0715Interview With Slim5:051997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:00:06
1That's All Right5:552Josephine's4:533As The Years Go Passing By6:064Everything Gonna Be Allright5:065Let Me Love You6:156The Things I Used To Do7:417That Ain't Right4:078Honest I Do3:459Nineteen Years Old6:3710Mary Lou5:3911Please Love Me4:022008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks
1Meet Me In My Own Hometown2Built For Comfort3Little Red Rooster4It's All Right5Chapel Hill Boogie6Scuffin'7Come On Pretty Baby8Country Girl9Can't Get No Grindin'10Come On In This House11Mary Lee12I'm A Stranger13Love My Baby2013 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 40:18
1Going Down Slow7:122Born on a Bad Sign6:523Born in Missouri6:404Slim's Bump4:205Buddy Buddy Friend3:506Born Down the Bridge6:277Rock Me Baby4:572024 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:43:25
1You Put It on Me5:4521839 Blues3:183So Easy to Love You7:244I Wonder Who (Who’s Gonna Be Your Sweet Man) [Live]7:515Bad Avenue6:156Country Boy5:337Just to Be With (Live)8:358Blues Behind Closed Doors7:009She’s Too Much5:5810When I Met My Baby5:3011Double Trouble (Live)9:0712You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had4:5813I’m a Bluesman (Live)6:3614Please Don’t Dog Me (Live)7:0815Take the Bitter with the Sweet5:5616Hard Luck Blues (Live)6:31
Album · 6
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Live at B.L.U.E.S.Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 36:46A1Luv Somebody3:50 A2Poor Man but a Good Man4:20 A3Gambler’s Blues3:13 A4Jimmie7:07 B1Help Yourself4:19 B2Mother Fuyer4:53 B3That Will Never Do3:54 B4Keep a Drivin’5:10 | Live | 1987 | |
| 1996 | The Blues Collection: Magic Slim, Grand SlamSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 55:531Early Every Morning5:07 2She Belongs to Me3:18 3Just to Be With You5:55 4Walking the Dog3:37 5Slammin’3:00 6Rough Dried Woman3:13 7Fannie Mae4:04 8Give Me Back My Wig4:18 9Scuffling3:03 10Make My Dreams Comes Come True3:55 111823 South Michigan Avenue4:27 12Wonder Why3:33 13If You Need Me3:21 14Teardrop5:02 | Compilation | 1996 | |
| 1998 | You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never HadSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 45:351Bad Boy4:39 2You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had4:58 3If It’s Too Late3:50 4Before You Accuse Me3:50 5Driftin’ Blues6:01 6Everybody in Town3:59 7How Much More3:03 8How Unlucky Can One Man Be7:13 9That Will Never Do4:53 10Dust My Brown3:09 | Compilation | 1998 | |
| 2007 | The Essential Magic SlimSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:01:201Before You Accuse Me3:22 2Mind Your Own Business3:36 3Think3:28 4Scufflin'2:44 5Crazy Woman5:48 6Mustang Sally4:22 7Goin' to Mississippi4:50 8What's Wrong4:17 9Playin' With My Mind3:00 10Black Tornado2:53 11Down in Virginia3:32 12Please Don't Dog Me6:51 13Jealous Man3:10 14How Many More Years4:38 15Get Your Business Straight4:49 | Compilation | 2007 | |
| 2011 | 4 Blues Guitar MastersSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks · 1:17:231Money Changes Everything3:20 2Way Too Expensive4:20 3Itchin' for It3:04 4How Many More Years4:39 5Been So Long4:38 6Can’t Afford to Die4:57 7Midnight Train4:17 8Chicken Heads4:54 9Ain’t No in Between4:03 10I’m a Bluesman5:00 11Another Man4:00 12Blackjack7:21 13Trouble4:54 14Til the Money Runs Out3:13 15Rollin’ & Tumblin’4:52 16Armed and Dangerous4:18 17Sunny Road Blues5:33 | Compilation | 2011 | |
| 2014 | Pure Magic: Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 82Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 1:15:541Love Somebody6:26 2Going to California6:33 3I'm Ready5:32 4I Got the Blues6:19 5Lovin You (Is the Best Thing That Happened to Me)5:55 6Since I Met You Baby8:25 7See What You're Doin' to Me4:47 8Spider in My Stew6:44 9Slim Talkin' (Part 1)3:52 10Look Over Yonder's Wall4:50 11Jimmie6:09 12Do You Mean It4:34 13Call My Job5:09 14Slim Talkin' (Part 2)0:39 | Live | 2014 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Magic Slim head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 19 | 79.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 16 | 85.4th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 36 | 75.4th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Slim and the Teardrops(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magic-Slim_2008-06-08.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/175fc3ce-88ab-43d9-8d25-1c77ca2dd07ddiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/175fc3ce-88ab-43d9-8d25-1c77ca2dd07dcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1884094genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1884094seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Slimbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Slim
Why this artist is in the database
- List of blues musicians — rank #137
Magic Slim | 1937 | 2013 | Mississippi | Chicago blues |
Tier rule: genre canon: blues
Image: Photobra · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1884094 · MusicBrainz: 175fc3ce-88ab-43d9-8d25-1c77ca2dd07d
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