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Artist
Michael Burks
12+ albums
bluesblues rockrockguitarContemporary Blues
about
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Soul-Blues, Blues-Rock Biography Born in Milwaukee in 1957, blues guitarist Michael Burks began learning his instrument at an early age -- inspired by his musical family (his father played bass and often performed alongside harmonica legend Sonny Boy Williamson II, while his grandfather was a Delta-style bluesman from Camden, AR). By the age of five, he was playing along with his father, and picked up a thing or two from his parent's record collection -- his father would often give his young son incentive to learn songs by offering him a dollar for each tune he could successfully figure out from beginning to end (a year later he made his performance debut in front of an audience, when he joined a cousin's band on stage). In the early '70s, Burks' father moved his family to Arkansas, and opened up the Bradley Ferry Country Club (a 300-seat juke joint), as Burks was hired as the leader of the house band, backing numerous blues and R&B greats that played the venue. By the time the club closed in the mid-'80s, Burks briefly put his love of blues on the backburner, as he supported himself by taking a job as a mechanical technician for Lockheed Martin, although he still managed to play clubs and regional festivals. In 1997, Burks issued his very first album, From the Inside Out, producing the entire record himself, which immediately racked up impressive reviews from several esteemed blues publications (Blues Access raved the debut was "the most imp
top songs
albums
Iron Man
Make It Rain
I Smell Smoke
Show Of Strength
I'm a Bluesman
The Alligator Records Years
From The Inside Out
The Best Of Michael "Iron Man" Burks
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Soundtrack - Supernatural (Season 2)
Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection
Alligator Records' Genuine Houserockin' Christmas
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More Crucial Guitar Blues