Backwards Sam Firk
| Backwards Sam Firk | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Addison Stewart |
| Born |
September 18, 1943 Asheville, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | October 11, 2007 (aged 64) Mill Spring, North Carolina, United States |
| Genres | Country blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, guitarist, songwriter, record collector and dealer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1960s–1970s |
| Labels | Various including Adelphi Records |
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 old 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."
Michael Addison Stewart was born in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. His use of his alias, Backwards Sam Firk, came firstly as a homage to John Fahey, who had utilised his own 'Blind Thomas' pseudonym of some recordings. Stewart also explained that, "My dad used to call me Backwards Sam because my initials are MAS."
His first recordings used his stage name and were made for Joe Bussard's Fonotone Records label in the early 1960s. He later collaborated on recordings with Fahey, when they were jointly billed as the Mississippi Swampers. Backwards Sam Firk's 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 Backwards Sam Firk, in search of largely forgotten blues musicians from an earlier generation. He 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).
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