William T. Narmour and Shellie W. Smith, Carroll County natives who were dirt-farming friends from childhood, became an influential fiddle-and-guitar duo blending blues and old-time dance tunes. Known throughout the area by the 1920s for breakdowns, waltzes, and rags played at dances, county fairs, and picnics, they made a major impression at fiddlers' conventions in Kosciusko and Winona. After being spotted at the 1927 Winona convention by veterinarian and talent scout Dr. A.M. "Doc" Bailey, they were brought to the attention of Okeh Records and made their first recordings in Memphis in February 1928, followed less than a month later by an Atlanta session that produced the successful "Carroll County Blues" and "Charleston." Between 1928 and June 1930 they recorded 32 sides for Okeh, later adding 16 Bluebird sides in July 1934, for a total of forty-eight recordings that often emphasized their home base. Their work helped leave some of the most lasting tunes in Mississippi string band repertories, and they also appeared with other noted performers on an Okeh "Medicine Show" revue record. When Smith was unavailable, African-American bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, a longtime acquaintance and nearby neighbor of Willie Narmour, often played guitar with Narmour, and Narmour arranged Hurt's audition with Okeh recording director Tommy Rockwell, leading to Hurt's first recordings. Though neither man was inclined to tour, they traveled as far as New York and San Antonio to record, then returned to lives centered on local work and music: Narmour farmed, drove a school bus, and ran a mechanic's garage in Avalon, while Smith farmed and later worked as a custodian at Valley High School. They continued performing locally into the 1950s, but although their instrumentals endured and Mississippi John Hurt later gained global notice during the folk revival of the 1960s, they did not benefit from that renewed interest. Narmour died after a massive stroke in March 1961, and Smith, interviewed by revival researchers, died in April 1968.
