Michael Burks born 30 July 1957

Michael Burks (July 30, 1957 – May 6, 2012) was an American electric blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his tracks, "Everybody's Got Their Hand Out", "I Smell Smoke" and "Hard Come, Easy Go", and variously worked with Johnnie Taylor, O. V. Wright, and Marquise Knox. He was the son of the bassist, Frederick Burks. 

The Allmusic journalist, Tim Sheridan once noted "... while his vocals are not stellar, he has a rich, gritty quality to his singing that is nicely matched to his guitar playing." Burks was known as 'Iron Man' for his energetic and passion filled performances on stage. He was nominated five times for a Blues Music Award and, in 2004, Living Blues presented him with the Critics' Award for Best Guitarist. 

Burks was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, and had a musical heritage. His father played the bass guitar, and performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, whilst his grandfather had played in a delta blues style. Burks junior had learned to play the guitar by the age of five. 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 1970s, Burks moved with his family to Camden, Arkansas. It was there that Burks and his father built a 300-seater juke joint named the Bradley Ferry Country Club, where Burks duly led the house band. Tables near the stage had to be reserved two weeks in advance. His status as a local celebrity was further heightened by his success at rebuilding and racing motorcycles. 

Michael, with a new baby daughter to raise, wanted a stable home life and a steady paycheck. He took a job as a mechanical technician for Lockheed-Martin. But his desire to perform persisted, and in 1994 he formed a new band and began playing clubs and regional festivals. Despite his not having a record deal, the high-powered energy of Michael's performances began to earn him festival offers from Florida to California. Fortunately, Michael's boss was a blues lover. He recognized Michael's ability and encouraged it, giving Burks the flexibility of long weekends in order to tour. On more than a few occasions, Lockheed even entertained its clients by flying them to Michael's festival appearances. 

                Here’s “Cross Eyed Woman” from above album.

                              

Burks self-released his debut CD, From The Inside Out, in 1997. His impassioned, string-bending solos, combined with his fiery tone and smoldering vocals, left no doubt that Michael Burks was an emotionally-charged blues powerhouse. Critics and fans loved what they heard. Living Blues rated it as one of "the best debut discs of the year." In 2000, Burks received a Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist, even though he was already a hard-working professional. 

It had become clear that Burks needed to pursue his musical career full-time once again. Fueled by a tank full of positive reviews, Michael began to play more festivals than ever before, appearing at the Chicago Blues Festival, Telluride Blues Festival, Mississippi Valley Blues Festival and Kalamazoo Blues Festival, and making headlining appearances at the Mississippi Muddy Waters Blues Festival, Arkansas River Blues Festival and the Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival, among others. After his powerful set at the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival, Iglauer signed him to Alligator on the spot. 

With Make It Rain, his 2001 Alligator debut, Burks achieved well-deserved national and international acclaim and became one of the blues world's fastest-rising stars. He immediately hit the road in support of the CD, bringing his blistering blues to fans across the country, throughout Europe, and even to Australia. I Smell Smoke followed in 2003, and five years later Burks issued what turned out to be the final album in his lifetime, Iron Man, named for his long held nickname.

Burks was a regular performer at the King Biscuit Blues Festival. He also appeared at Memphis in May in 2004 and 2009. Burks had completed recording his fifth album, which was due to be released in July 2012. On May 6, 2012, upon returning from a tour of Europe, Burks collapsed at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He was shortly after pronounced dead from a heart attack, at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, aged 54. 

In 2013, Burks took the Blues Music Award "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" and "Album of the Year" categories with his posthumous release, Show Of Strength. Another posthumous CD was released in 2016, I'm A Bluesman. With taste, melodicism, and always in full command of his mighty guitar playing and soul-baring, fervent vocals, Michael "Iron Man" Burks leaves a legacy of extraordinary music. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Alligator.com)