Backwards Sam Firk, 1943-2007
Michael Stewart, aka Backwards Sam Firk, (bottom left) and Memphis Piano Red
visit Sleepy John Estes and family at home in Brownsville, Tennessee.
Mike Stewart was a blues musician, obsessed with old records and a supporter of the musicians who made the music he loved. But that description doesn’t really capture the warm connection he had with the fragile world of rural music. He ventured out and partnered up with other blues fanatics like Joe Bussard, John Fahey and Tom Hoskins. He learned the songs of people like Mississippi John Hurt, then played them back to them so when they were found out in their country homes during the Sixties and Seventies, they could relearn and re-record them.
Stewart died of a sudden heart attack on October 11, at age 64. He had been running a world-famous record business, Green River Records, dealing mostly in extremely rare blues, jazz and rural 78s, from his home in Mill Spring, NC. He was a North Carolina native, whose travels took him far and wide, and gained him a reputation among the most serious of roots music fans. Under his pseudonym of Backwards Sam Firk, he also recorded and released several heralded records, acutely attuned to his favorite styles. Among local obituaries and tributes, the British newspaper the Guardian published a telling memoriam, further encapsulating his legacy to all music lovers. So did the Dust-to-Digital label’s blog, having included many Firk songs on their Fonotone Records box set, a set for which he was a cherished adviser. Pick up a copy of tomorrow’s paper to read accounts of Firk’s adventures in digging up old folk music and the connections his passion has with his son, J.T., known locally as electronic music producer $tinkworx. Look for it in our year-end wrap up.
Edit: Here’s the link to the feature itself. Thanks, Carolina.—Chris