Michael Burks Project show supports posthumous album

When Camden guitarist Michael Burks died of a heart attack on May 6, 2012, at 54, he left behind not only grieving family, friends and fans, but also a strong musical legacy captured on four albums released in his lifetime and one, Show of Strength, that hit stores not long after his death.

But there was another album that only recently has seen the light of day.

I'm a Bluesman was recorded by Burks in 1998, but remained unreleased until July.

The Michael Burks Project, a band formed with help from Burks' widow, Bobbie, will celebrate the album's release with a performance tonight in Hot Springs presented by the Hot Springs Blues Society. Copies of the CD will be available at the show and can also be found at michaelburks.com.

"Phase One of what Bobbie and I were doing was to put the record out," says Wightman Harris, Michael Burks' manager and executive producer of the album. "Phase Two was to put together a tribute band to tour in support of the release."

The Project includes guitarist/vocalist Josh Parks, drummer Lance Womack, keyboardist Stuart Baer and bassist Jerry Bone. Baer and Womack were members of Michael Burks' band, with Womack drumming on many of the tracks on I'm a Bluesman.

After his death, organizers of the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena-West Helena, where Burks was often featured, started the Michael Burks Memorial Jam Session, held each Wednesday before the festival kicks off. It was at one of these jams that Bobbie Burks first saw Parks.

"She knew immediately that he would be a great selection to front this band," Harris says.

Michael Burks was born in Milwaukee and moved with his family to Camden in the early '70s. The Burkses were a musical bunch. Michael's father played bass with Sonny Boy Williamson II and opened a juke joint in Camden called the Bradley Ferry Country Club, where he fronted the house band. Michael picked up the guitar at age 5 and spent years playing clubs and festivals.

"He was just destined for stardom," says Harris, who first met Michael when the guitarist was 13. "He oozed music. He could sing, he could play, he could write. At 13 he was already a phenomenal player."

As he grew older, though, Burks became disenchanted with the business side of music and by the time he was 30, was barely playing at all.

The blues, though, was an itch that never stayed scratched.

"He decided he wanted to play again," Harris says.

After gigging around Arkansas, Burks began to attract a following. His critically acclaimed debut, From the Inside Out, was released in 1999 and he was later signed to blues powerhouse label Alligator Records.

Make It Rain, I Smell Smoke and Iron Man all followed on Alligator, featuring Burks' soulful vocals and blistering electric guitar.

I'm a Bluesman, though, stayed on the shelf. "We felt it was a good record," Harris says, "but we never could get it picked up" after the death of original producer Paul Lee.

It's a strong album, reflecting Burks' sly song selection and six-string stealth. There's the funky "What Are You Doing to Me"; the horn-filled "I Didn't Take Your Woman"; the heartbroken slow jam "My Little Girl"; the juke-joint rockin' "Raised Up in Arkansas"; and a surprising and soulful rendering of the Hall & Oates pop hit "Sara Smile."

And with the album officially out, Harris and company hope it will help keep Burks' music and influence alive.

"He was my favorite guitar player of all time," Harris says. "I'll stack him up against anybody in the world. He could play anything."

Weekend on 04/13/2017