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Magic Slim And The Teardrops On Mountain Stage

Magic Slim.
Brian Blauser
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Mountain Stage
Magic Slim.

Magic Slim and his band The Teardrops make their first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. Born Morris Holt in Torrence, Miss., in 1937, Magic Slim has been called "a national treasure" by Living Blues magazine. Part of the generation of Southern bluesmen who migrated to Chicago in the mid-20th century, Slim first turned to the guitar after losing a little finger in a cotton-gin accident, making it difficult for him to play piano.

The '60s Chicago blues sound shines in "Part Time Love," while Slim's roots are on full display in "Going to Mississippi." Magic Slim is backed here by his own trio The Teardrops: the great Jon McDonald on rhythm guitar, Brian Jones on bass and Andre Howard on drums. They're followed by Mountain Stage band pianist Bob Thompson and his take on the African-American spiritual "Wade in the Water."

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