Former Teardrop Nick Holt, R.I.P.

Formers Teardrops bassist Nick Holt, the brother of Chicago blues legend Magic Slim (a/k/a Morris Holt), died in Lincoln, Nebraska on Monday, June 22, 2009 from brain cancer. Holt was 69 years old at the time of his death.

Born in Grenada, Mississippi in 1940, Holt accompanied his brother to Chicago in the late-1950s, and helped him form the popular Magic Slim & the Teardrops in 1960. The rock-steady bass player performed with his frontman brother for the next 40 years, both onstage and on the band's recordings through 2000's Blind Pig Records release Snakebite.

Holt moved with his brother to Lincoln in 1994, where Magic Slim & the Teardrops performed frequently at the Zoo Bar when they weren't on tour, and even recorded several live albums at the venue. Holt also received a 1999 W.C. Handy Awards nomination as "Best Blues Instrumentalist – Bass" for his work with the Teardrops.

Nick Holt was also in demand as a session player, and he lent his bass skills to albums by Little Milton, Sunnyland Slim, Vance Kelly, and former Teardrops' guitarist John Primer, among others. Holt also released three albums with his name on them: You Can't Lose What You Never Had, recorded with his brother Magic Slim and released by Austrian blues label Wolf Records; We Do It For The Blues, with Dutch bluesman "Little Boogie Boy;" and his lone solo album, You Better Watch Yourself, released by Wolf Records in 1998.

Holt had beat throat cancer in 1987, but he had been sidelined for the past several years with health problems. He will be missed by the many Teardrops fans in Chicago and across the world.

Photo courtesy Price Grabber