“MAGIC
SLIM & THE TEARDROPS”
FoFor
Morris Holt, a/k/a Magic
Slim was born in Torrence, Mississippi on August 7, 1937. He took an early interest in music, singing in
the church choir. His first love was piano but, having lost a finger on his
right hand in an accident, he found it difficult to play properly and switched
to guitar. He worked in the fields during the week and played the blues at
house parties on the weekends.
At age 11 Slim moved to Grenada, Mississippi where he later met and
became friends with Magic Sam (who, years later in Chicago, gave him the name Magic
Slim). Sam gave Slim some pointers on guitar when they were still youngsters.
When Slim made his first trip to Chicago in 1955, Sam hired him to play bass in
his band. Slim returned to Mississippi for 5 more years,
perfecting his craft before he again returned to Chicago.
Slim gained national and international attention when he began playing
regularly at Florence's on Chicago's south side in 1972, filling in
occasionally for Hound Dog Taylor, and taking over the gig when Hound Dog moved
on to a more lucrative career on the road. He formed his own band called the
Teardrops, consisting of his younger brothers, Nick(whom
Slim had taught to play bass) and Douglas, the drummer along with Junior Pettis
on rhythm guitar. Slim's raw, rough-edged slide
guitar playing, with a pounding bass line overlaid with his fiery guitar riffs
and gruff, good natured vocals, was the perfect complement to the often rowdy
and sometimes violent atmosphere at Florence's.
Eventually Slim left Florence's to launch a career that has taken him across
the country and overseas where he is even better known then in the U.S. In
1989, he toured Europe, Japan and Brazil, becoming an instant hero in
Brazil. He opened up for Buddy Guy, Etta James and Albert Collins on the
first blues festival staged in Brazil and the media said he
stole the show from all the illustrious competition. He then appeared on
television there and dozens of magazine articles as well as every newspaper in
the country. In 1990 he returned there selling out venues in 4 cities, three of
which had never seen a blues show before. In 1994 Eddie Vedder
personally selected the band to open a show for Pearl Jam at the New Regal
Theater in Chicago.
Slim recorded a record for Wolf Records in Germany while touring in 1990 and
again in 1991. Both were awarded the W.C. Handy award for the best foreign
traditional blues record for the years 1990 and 1991.
At the 24th Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards May 22,
2003, Magic Slim and the Teardrops were voted the Blues Band of the
Year and Magic was the only performer to be nominated in the top five
categories:
- Blues Entertainer of the Year
- Blues Band of the Year
- Blues Instrumentalist-Guitar
- Traditional Blues Album of the Year
- Traditional Blues-Male Artist of the Year….
Again in 2006 Magic Slim & the Teardrops were the only artist/band to be
nominated in the top 5 categories.
Magic Slim & the Teardrops have been nominated for “Blues Band of the Year”
for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, making it an almost annual
event.
"Thanks so much for
making the show with Magic Slim happen. It was easily one of the finest
displays of Chicago blues I have ever heard." John Paul Brophy, Producer Blues & Brews Festival 2005 Salt Lake City
b
"Magic
Slim consistently offers no-frills houserockin’
blues. He and his band are a
national treasure." Living Blues Magazine
"Magic Slim is pure 100%
blues. When audiences have the opportunity to see/hear a band like this in
action then there is little chance of them being conned by the many
pseudo-blues acts out there. Magic Slim & the Teardrops should be the
standard by which we compare all others." Andy Grigg
Real Blues Canada "Chicago’s Last 'Real'Blues
Band" Brian
Owens Boston Blues Society
"Make no mistake, big
guy Magic Slim (Morris Holt) and his gang of three are the premier Chicago blues band on the road and in the recording studio
today." Frank-John Hadley Downbeat
"These
guys are simply the best at what they do—playing unrefined and unadulterated
electric Chicago bar room blues" Twin Cities Blues News
For
For more info go to: www.magicslimblues.com
The Darrell Nulisch Blues Band
|
Growing up in Dallas, Darrell was
surrounded by blues and soul music at an early age. "My Dad and Mom used
to take me to these honky tonks sometimes when
there would be live bands on Sunday afternoons," he recalls. Jimmy McCracklin and Freddie King were early favorites, along
with a kid in the neighborhood named Jimmie Vaughan. "One of his first
bands, the Chessmen, used to practice down in the park about three blocks
from my house," says Nulisch. "I would
ride my bicycle down and watch those guys play."
From the beginning,
Darrell exhibited a natural flair for phrasing a lyric, a quality that
underscores his relaxed, soulful performances today. He began singing
full-time in 1978 as one of the founding members of Anson Funderburgh
and the Rockets. Their 1981 recording, Talk to You by Hand, was the first
album in the catalog of New Orleans-based Black Top Records. After spending
seven years as front man for the Rockets (also appearing on 1985's She Knocks
Me Out!), Nulisch put in a year with Dallas-based
Mike Morgan and the Crawl before joining forces in 1987 with Boston-based
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. He cut two albums as their front man (Soul Searchin' and Peace Of Mind) before leaving in 1990 to
form his own band, Texas Heat (Business as Usual).
|
|
|
Nulisch continued to mix blues and soul on
aptly named Bluesoul, a 1996 release, and on The
Whole Truth, his debut for Severn Records in 1998. He takes that earthy
formula to a new level on I Like It That Way, delivering bluesy and sweet
soul music with an authoritative and refreshingly unaffected voice.
|
|
"I never tried to beat anybody over the head with my
stuff," says Nulisch of his relaxed,
emotionally rich style. "I've tried at times to push a little bit
harder, but it doesn't work for me. I don't feel comfortable doing it and I
don't think it's a true representation of my style or what I am. You have to
be who you are and just hope that people catch on to what it is. And the
people who get it really dig it." Blues and soul fans will have lots to
dig on I Like It That Way.
|
For more info go to: www.darrellnulisch.com
