Willie Narmour (1889-1961) and Shell Smith (1895-1968) were from Carroll County in north-central Mississippi, and played in the Mississippi old- time style now nearly extinct. In 1927 they were spotted at a fiddlers’ convention by OKeh talent scout Tommy Rockwell (whom they told about their neighbor Mississippi John Hurt, but that's another story). Like its cousin Bay Rum, Jamaica Ginger, popularly known as "Jake" was loaded with alcohol but supposedly undrinkable. This worked out pretty well for all concerned until the spring of 1930, when the manufacturer decided to throw in a little tri-orthocresyl phosphate. Somehow nobody got killed, but quite a few people were paralyzed, and thousands were left with severe-nerve damage, including a foot drop whose characteristic shuffling gait, dubbed "jake leg" was widely imitated and commented upon, sometimes quite cruelly, in tunes and songs of the day,
Willie T, Narmour, fiddle; Shell W. Smith, guitar.
San Antonio TX 6/6/30 OKeh 45469
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