BACKWARDS SAM FIRK

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny in allmusic 

Backwards Sam Firk was the tongue-in-cheek alias of next-generation bluesman Mike Stewart, who created the character in homage to fingerpicked guitar pioneer John Fahey and his "Blind Thomas" character. Born September 18, 1943, in North Carolina, Stewart derived his alias from a lifelong nickname: "My dad used to call me Backwards Sam because my initials are MAS," he later explained. A member of the postwar generation that rediscovered the recordings and eventually the current whereabouts of the veteran bluesmen that spearheaded the music's golden age, Stewart was a true country-blues guitar purist with a remarkably authentic technique and feel. He cut his first recordings for famed record collector Joe Bussard's Fonotone imprint, and later collaborated with Fahey as well. Stewart first attracted wide attention with the release of The True Blues & Gospel of Backwards Sam Firk, a collection of deeply felt blues covers that was the maiden release on Adelphi Records, the label owned in part by the guitarist's then-wife Carol Rosenthal. Stewart was also instrumental in Adelphi's frequent trips across the U.S. in search of the blues greats of an earlier era, and over the years he befriended the likes of Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, and Big Joe Williams, sometimes joining his heroes on-stage or in the studio. Most notably, he backed Yank Rachell on a session for the Blue Goose label. Stewart resumed the Backwards Sam Firk guise for a pair of duet LPs with guitarist Stephan Michelson, aka Delta X. From the 1970s onward, however, he largely turned his back on performing in favor of buying and selling 78s, owning and operating Green River Records, and assembling one of the premier collections of blues, gospel, and world music recordings in the U.S. Stewart suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Mill Spring, NC, on October 11, 2007. He was 64 years old.

Michael Addison Stewart (September 18, 1943 – October 11, 2007), who performed and recorded as Backwards Sam Firk, was an American country blues singer, fingerstyle guitarist, songwriter, and record collector. Less well known than such contemporaries as Alan Wilson of Canned Heat and John Fahey, Backwards Sam Firk spent much of his music-based existence working with and supporting older blues artists. According to his friend Stephan Michelson, "He was, simply put, masterful. More than technique, he had taste. And more than technique and taste, he had originality. From his mentors and from records he did not so much copy notes as learn sounds and how to make them. He played old-time blues as if he was living in the 1930s, as if this was the music of his day. For him, it was."

Stewart was born in Asheville, North Carolina. His alias Backwards Sam Firk was an homage to the musician John Fahey, who had used the pseudonym Blind Thomas for some of his recordings. Stewart also explained that "My dad used to call me Backwards Sam because my initials are MAS."

His first recordings, under his stage name, were made for Joe Bussard's Fonotone Records in the early 1960s. He later collaborated on recordings with Fahey, when they were jointly billed as the Mississippi Swampers. His debut solo recording was the album The True Blues and Gospel, which was mainly a collection of cover versions of older blues numbers. It was released by Adelphi Records, an independent blues label based in Silver Spring, Maryland, partly owned by his then-wife. Adelphi conducted field trips, usually attended by Firk, in search of largely forgotten blues musicians from an earlier generation. Firk thus met and befriended the guitarist Richard "Hacksaw" Harney, Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, and Big Joe Williams. In St. Louis, he also met and played with the pianist Henry Brown and Henry Townsend. Most notably, he backed Yank Rachell on a session for Blue Goose Records. His work with Townsend resulted in their joint album, Henry T. Music Man (1973).

Stewart again used the pseudonym Backwards Sam Firk for a couple of duet albums he made with the guitarist Stephan Michelson, alias Delta X. Firk gained an entry in the dirty blues category, by recording tracks such as "Cigarette" and "West Side Blues".

By the mid-1970s, Firk stopped recording and started to earn a living dealing in rare blues, folk and country records. He assembled one of the most important collections of vintage recordings ever held by one individual.] He owned and operated his own record label, Green River Records, which issued compilation albums from his collection of old recordings.

Following a divorce from his first wife, Carol Rosenthal, he returned to North Carolina in 1991 and settled in Mill Spring. He later remarried.

He died of a heart attack at his home on October 11, 2007, aged 64.