Michael Burks - The Alligator Records Years (2013)

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Michael "Iron Man" Burks was a modern-day blues hero. His "Iron Man" moniker was born from his hours-long, intensely physical performances, his fearsome guitar attack and his tough, smoky vocals. It also came from the thousands of miles a year he personally logged behind the wheel of his touring van. His fiery music was driven by an intense, blue collar work ethic that won him a rabid worldwide fan base. Between his blistering guitar sound-which could at any moment become sweetly melodic-and his live charisma, Burks earned four Blues Music Award nominations, including, most recently, the 2012 nomination for Guitarist Of The Year. He won the 2004 Living Blues magazine Critics' Award for Best Guitarist. GuitarOne named his Alligator Records debut album, Make It Rain, one of the Top 200 greatest guitar recordings of all time. According to Living Blues, "Burks burns his own signature onto almost everything he touches...he has the ability and the imagination to fuse the best of the old and the new." When he suddenly died at age 54 on May 6, 2012, the world lost a true musical treasure.