Magic Slim, Blues Singer and Guitarist Who Blazed Onstage, Dies at 75
Magic Slim, a singer and guitarist acclaimed as a holder of the flame of the electrified Chicago blues, died on Thursday in Philadelphia. He was 75.
His death was announced by Blind Pig Records, a label that he had recorded since 1990. No reason was given, but he was known to be dealing with a variety of health problems and had been hospitalized a few weeks ago on tour.
Magic Slim was one of the last in a long line of musicians who grew up in the Deep South and then moved to Chicago, where blues developed in the years after World War II from a folk music is played mainly on acoustic guitars to a loud, wild, clear urban music, played on electric instruments like Muddy Waters and Howlin 'Wolf, which was a precursor to rock' n 'roll.
