Blues Musician Magic Slim Dies Aged 75

Magic Slim, the US guitarist and singer who helped shape the sound of Chicago electric blues, has died aged 75.

His manager confirmed that he passed away in a Philadelphia hospital on Thursday following health problems that had worsened in recent weeks.

Slim - real name Morris Holt - was one of the leading lights in the blues scene in the 1960s and was a younger contemporary of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

The musician and his backing band, the Teardrops, were known for their raw electric blues style.

His manager, Marty Salzman, said: "If you were going to take somebody who'd never seen blues to one of their shows, it would be like putting them in a time machine and putting them in 1962.

"No frills, no rock 'n' roll. It was just straight-ahead, real-deal blues."

Slim and his band were still active on the music scene, touring and releasing a record of cover versions last year.

Growing up in the cotton fields of Mississippi, the bluesman switched to guitar from piano after losing his little finger on his right hand in an accident.

After an unsuccessful shot at the Chicago scene in 1955, Slim returned home and recruited his brothers for his backing band.

The three men later returned to the city and managed to establish themselves in its busy music scene.

Slim's manager said that bleeding ulcers had sent the musician to hospital, but that he also suffered from heart, lung and kidney ailments.