Special Thanks:
**To Rosa's Lounge for the hundreds and hundreds of hours of live feeds that keep the world dancing night after night - check "Rosa's Lounge" out on Facebook and YouTube - a great gathering spot for friends and blues fans worldwide -If you are in Chicago visit the always incredible - guaranteed a good time blues party. Many Thanks for always having Table 6 ready every time I visit !!
**To John Primer and his wonderful wife Lisa - for all the wonderful "live feeds " during the unprecedented pandemic shutdown. You gave comfort, support, and hope to so many around the world.
John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi on March 5, 1945, into a family of sharecroppers. They lived in a drafty shack without running water or modern facilities. Everyone in the family worked to make ends meet. They sang together as they worked in the fields. At night his father and cousin would sit around playing the blues. At a young age he began playing a one-string instrument called a diddley-bow. Listening to his grandmother’s records, he fell in love
with the music of Albert and BB King; Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and more.
In 1980 Muddy Waters was putting together a new band and he recruited Primer to join the band. After Muddy retired from performing the band stayed together with Primer as their leader. He then joined The Teardrops and played lead guitar along side of Magic Slim.
Teardrops for Magic Slim was recorded before a live audience at the iconic Rosa's Lounge in Chicago on November 26, 2022. The set list was very carefully curated, the songs being some of the favorites that Magic Slim loved to perform: "Mama Talk to Your daughter", J.B.Lenoir; Jimmy Dawkins "Luv Somebody"; "Every Night, Every Day" from Jimmy McCracklin; "Ain't Doing Too Bad", "Buddy Buddy Friend; from Morris Holt, "Trouble of my Own"; Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You Baby"; "It Hurts Me Too" and "Look Over Yonder Wall " from Elmore James; Eddie Jones "The Things I Used to Do"; Little Milton's "The Blues is Alright " and "Before You Accuse Me" from Ellas McDaniel / Bo Diddley.
Clocking in at 68:46, with 12 tracks, Teardrops for Magic Slim certainly delivers some of the best - and most authentic - Chicago blues to be found.
Just like a mouth-watering, totally unique Chicago deep dish, John Primer, Shawn Holt and The Teardrops leave plenty of room for some tantalizing ingredients - funky shuffles, nicely done slow blues, sizzling guitar work, high energy and plenty of raucous interplay on stage. Magic Slim is given a first-rate, well-produced
tribute that certainly captures the spirit and majesty of one extraordinary blues giant. The crowd that night at Rosa's were treated to an extraordinary evening of music, pulled together with love and affection, shining a well deserved spotlight on the life and career of a true music legend, Magic Slim. Well done !!!
The North Jersey Blues Society extends our congratulations to Primer who will be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame on May 10, 2023.
Label: bluehouseproductions.com
Producer: Lisa Primer
Released: 2023
Artist Website: johnprimerblues.com
Band Members: John primer on lead guitar and vocals; Jon McDonald on second guitar; Earl Howell, drums; Danny O'Connor, bass; Lenny Media, drums; and a very special guest - and the son of Magic Slim - Shawn Holt, guitar and vocals.
Reviewed by John Muller.