ADVENTURES IN THE WILD - Rescuing Rhythm & Blues 45s From A Dusty Demise

As an avid collector of sixties garage 45s I likewise have a proclivity for British R&B and freakbeat singles from the same era. My fascination with the early interpretations of American blues by the Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, Yardbirds and Downliners Sect has invariably kept me on high alert for the stray single from any one of the many bluesmen that smote the young Anglophiles. It's the rare occasion when I stumble across a hard to find gem like Slim Harpo's infectious duo of rockin' blues, "Don't Start Cryin' Now" b/w "Rainin' In My Heart" that keeps me vigilant in my pursuit. 

Two other such finds while poking around for seven inch treasures were a pair of harmonica blues blasters from Buster Brown. From the same collection that yielded the Slim Harpo burner I retrieved the jovial stomper, "Fannie Mae" b/w "Lost In A Dream". As luck would have it, a mere three weeks later while making my rounds of regular honeyholes I liberated a nice copy of the toe tappin' twins, "The Madison Shuffle" b/w "John Henry" from a pile of easy listening pap. 

As common as it may be to uncover Chuck Berry and Little Richard discs, it has been my own experience that the same success rate does not stand true for Bo Diddley singles. However, in my effort to practice due diligence I recovered one of Mr. McDaniel's offerings while embarking on an out of town expedition. At the dingiest thrift shop I have ever set foot in I was knocked for a loop to find a couple of bins of fifty cent 45s quizzically set on the same table as rusty old tools and antiquated fishing tackle. I was, however, rewarded for braving the dowdy environs with an amazingly clean copy of Bo-Beat thumpers, "Diddley Daddy" b/w "She's Fine, She's Mine".