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perform live they became very enthusiastic indeed, and swiftly signed him. A one-man-band, who
played harmonica, guitar, bass drum and hi-hat, this was not unusual in blues circles, bearing in
mind the careers of US musicians Dr. Ross, Joe Hill Louis, Jesse Fuller, Blind Joe Hill and Wilbert
Harrison, who all plied their trade in the same way.

Bennett was keen to record one of his own songs for the initial single release, but in spite of many
attempts at getting it on tape, the tempo never seemed to be quite right, so after a quick search
through Mike Vernon’s record collection, the song “It’s A Man Down There”, by G. L. Crockett, was
chosen, and subsequently released, although to little acclaim. This did not seem to deter Duster
Bennett, who noted in an interview with Beat Instrumental, in July 1968, that he did not see himself
as a big selling artiste, but would be happy just recording some LPs and the occasional single. An
LP, “Smilin’ Like I’m Happy” duly appeared in
August 1968, which garnered good reviews
and sold well, probably to a large extent off
the back of Bennett’s extensive live shows at
pubs and clubs up and down the country.

A further single, a cover of Slim Harpo’s
‘Rainin’ In My Heart’ b/w ‘Jumpin’ For Joy’,
with the assistance of Chicken Shack rhythm
section of Andy Silvester (bass) and Dave
Bidwell (drums) on the ‘A’ side, fared no better
in terms of sales than the first release, in spite
of good reviews.

A second LP was recorded live, at The Angel,
Godalming (as had been the Champion Jack
Dupree album) with a little help on 2 tracks from original Yardbirds guitarist Tony ‘Top’ Topham
and Peter Green (playing bass!). Due to constraints on his time Mike Vernon allowed Bennett to
go into the studio and produce the album himself, the end result being so impressive that he was
generally allowed to produce himself for all future recordings. Indeed, Duster Bennett was one of
the earliest musicians to have a home recording studio, from which he frequently brought forward
new material for consideration.

Gordon Smith was an acoustic guitarist and singer from County Durham, who thought he would
try his luck in London, and was spotted busking in Portobello Road by 2 blues enthusiasts, who
got him a gig at the The Blue Horizon Club (upstairs at the now demolished Nag’s Head, Battersea).
Mike Vernon’s wife happened to be in the audience while he played a short interval set, and she
phoned her husband, telling him to get there as soon as possible, which he did, just in time to see
enough to be impressed. Off the back of that, he was signed to Blue Horizon, within weeks was in
the CBS Studios, with Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and (pianist) Derek Hall, to cut an
album entitled “Long Overdue”. The LP sold reasonably well, shifting in excess of 6,000 copies,
but a subsequent single disappeared without trace. A follow-up album and single were recorded,
but the project never reached fruition, although Smith ended up playing some notable dates,
supporting the likes of Muddy Waters and Fleetwood Mac. He continued to play and record, for
various labels, into the early years of the 21st century, although on a fairly low-key basis.

In the mid-Summer of 1968 Mike Vernon travelled to the US to record the Memphis Country Blues
Festival, and hopefully to do some studio recordings, particularly of the headliners, Furry Lewis,
Mississippi Joe Callicott and Bukka White. The live recordings were released as “1968 Memphis
Country Blues Festival”, whilst studio recordings from Lewis, Callicott and Larry Johnson appeared