Backwards Sam Firk served as the playful pseudonym adopted by postwar blues guitarist Mike Stewart, who devised the persona to honor pioneering fingerpicker John Fahey and his own “Blind Thomas” invention. Stewart entered the world on September 18, 1943, in North Carolina; he traced the alias to a childhood nickname, later recounting, “My dad used to call me Backwards Sam because my initials are MAS.” As part of the generation that tracked down both the vintage recordings and the surviving performers from the music’s early peak, he stood out as a devoted country-blues stylist whose technique and tone carried striking period authenticity. His earliest sides appeared on collector Joe Bussard’s Fonotone label, and he went on to work directly with Fahey. Wider notice arrived via the album The True Blues & Gospel of Backwards Sam Firk, a set of heartfelt covers issued as the inaugural release on Adelphi Records, the company part-owned by his wife at the time, Carol Rosenthal. Stewart also helped steer Adelphi’s nationwide searches for prewar blues figures, forming lasting friendships with Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and Big Joe Williams and occasionally sharing stages or studio dates with them. His most prominent collaboration placed him behind Yank Rachell for a Blue Goose session. He revived the Backwards Sam Firk name for two duet albums recorded with guitarist Stephan Michelson, who performed as Delta X. Beginning in the 1970s he largely stepped away from live work, instead dealing in 78s, running Green River Records, and building one of the country’s foremost private holdings of blues, gospel, and international recordings. On October 11, 2007, he died of a heart attack at his Mill Spring, North Carolina, residence at age 64.
