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581:, Brown formed the world's first Western swing band in Fort Worth, Texas, the Musical Brownies. The first incarnation of the Brownies featured Brown, guitarist Derwood Brown, bassist Wanna Coffman, Ocie Stockard on tenor banjo, and fiddle player Jesse Ashlock. Shortly afterward, pianist Fred "Papa" Calhoun and fiddle player
612:—Dunn's innovative steel guitar solo riffs single-handedly created country & western's most recognized solo instrumental sound. His upbeat "Taking Off" instrumental is an example of his inspired solos; a towering inspiration to many Western swing, country and even rock guitarists in the years to follow.
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The
Doughboys were playing cowboy songs, jazz, blues, and popular songs—a repertoire so diverse that the band's audience continued to expand. In February 1932, they recorded a single for Victor under the name the Fort Worth Doughboys. The band was playing dance music and wanted to play at dances, but
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Brown was taken to Fort Worth's
Methodist Hospital where his injuries were initially believed to not be life-threatening. However, one of his broken ribs had punctured a lung. Pneumonia set in and he died five days later. The site of the crash was in the southbound lane of Jacksboro Highway directly
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and recorded 36 songs for the label with Brown singing lead vocals on most all of the tracks. Released as singles over the course of 1935, the songs helped establish the band as the most popular
Western swing band in the entire southwest United States. In March 1936, Brown and his Musical Brownies
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O'Daniel was reluctant to let the group play outside of their radio shows. He also was hesitant to pay them much money, which angered Brown. In
September 1932, in need of additional money to support his aging parents, Brown left the band after he had an argument about money with O'Daniel.
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600:; and then another ten recordings for the label in August. Brown and his talented group of musicians were responsible for numerous innovations, notably in late 1934, the Brownies added the true pioneer of the world's first electrically amplified steel guitar—
408:, and pop together into a unique, distinctly American hybrid, thus giving him the nickname, "Father of Western Swing". The birthplace of Brown's upbeat "hot-jazz hillbilly" string band sound was developed at the Crystal Springs Dance Hall in
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travelled to New
Orleans to record their second set of sessions for Decca. By this time, fiddler Brower had been replaced by Cliff Bruner. At these sessions, the Brownies cut about 50 songs, which were issued throughout 1936 and 1937.
585:(who replaced Ashlock) joined the group. Like the Light Crust Doughboys, the Musical Brownies played a mixture of country, pop, and jazz, but the Brownies had a harder rhythm & blues dance edge than their predecessors.
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and drew large crowds to various Texas and
Oklahoma dance halls. Their home venue, Crystal Springs Dance Hall in Fort Worth, was sold out nearly every Saturday night from 1933 to 1936. Brown and Wills remained friends.
419:, with whom he performed at the beginning of his career, Brown developed the sound and style of Western swing in the early 1930s. For a while, he and his band, the Musical Brownies, were more popular than
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across the street from the "Avalon Motel" which still stands today... and quite eerily, Brown had recorded the song "Avalon" two months prior to his accident.
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On the morning of April 13, 1936, Brown suffered a car accident, which may have been attributed to his habitual falling asleep at inopportune times, possibly
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In early 1931, the group was hired by the Light Crust Flour
Company—which was run by Burrus Mill and Elevator Company—to appear daily on the radio station
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for the group, where they played a show sponsored by
Aladdin Lamp Company, which had the band change its name to the Aladdin Laddies.
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Following Brown's death, Derwood Brown kept the
Musical Brownies together for two years, recording a dozen sides for Decca in 1937.
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Almost immediately, Brown and His
Musical Brownies were a huge success. The group had a regular spot on the radio station
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and guitarist Herman Arnspiger. They were performing at a local Fort Worth dance and Brown joined the duo on a chorus of "
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who first heard electric steel guitar played by a down and out blues performer on the
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This article is about the band leader. For the Tennessee politician, see
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Milton Brown website: Photos, track lists, audio files, links
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Brown began his musical career in 1930, when he met
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596:In April 1934, the band recorded eight songs for
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724:Milton Brown & the Founding of Western Swing
193:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
757:Discography of American Historical Recordings
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615:In January 1935, Brown's band signed with
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57:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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682:Learn how and when to remove this message
565:, then syndicated the program statewide.
485:Learn how and when to remove this message
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522:salesman, but he lost his job when the
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372:Victor, Bluebird, Decca
208:more precise citations.
803:Charly Records artists
610:Coney Island Boardwalk
526:hit in the late '20s.
384:, The Musical Brownies
273:Background information
808:Decca Records artists
579:Light Crust Doughboys
559:Light Crust Doughboys
545:Light Crust Doughboys
412:, from 1931 to 1936.
382:Light Crust Doughboys
798:American bandleaders
656:improve this section
459:improve this section
88:improve this article
504:Stephenville, Texas
317:Stephenville, Texas
823:RCA Victor artists
577:After leaving the
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360:Years active
329:(1936-04-18)
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672:April 2018
512:Fort Worth
475:April 2018
351:Instrument
304:1903-09-08
279:Birth name
114:newspapers
43:improve it
730:, 1994),
700:pneumonia
643:does not
531:Bob Wills
446:does not
427:Biography
417:Bob Wills
364:1930–1936
49:talk page
602:Bob Dunn
502:Born in
755:at the
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128:scholar
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369:Labels
354:Vocals
341:Genres
313:Origin
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624:Death
520:cigar
187:, or
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539:WBAP
450:any
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406:jazz
380:The
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324:Died
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298:Born
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