Light Crust Doughboys
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The Light Crust Doughboys is an American
Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...
band from
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, United States, organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in
Saginaw, Texas Saginaw is a small city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and an Inner suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 24,310 in 2019. Saginaw is a Home rule municipality. History The town was renamed Saginaw in 1882 by Jarvis J. Green (after his ...
. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In addition to launching Western swing pioneers
Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...
and
Milton Brown Milton Brown (September 8, 1903 – April 18, 1936) was an American band leader and vocalist who co-founded the genre of Western swing. His band was the first to fuse hillbilly hokum, jazz, and pop together into a unique, distinctly American hy ...
, it provided a platform for many of the best musicians of the genre, including
Tommy Duncan Thomas Elmer Duncan (January 11, 1911 – July 25, 1967), was an American Western swing vocalist and songwriter who gained fame in the 1930s as a founding member of The Texas Playboys. He recorded and toured with bandleader Bob Wills on and o ...
, Cecil Brower, John Parker and Kenneth Pitts. The original group disbanded in 1942, although band member Marvin Montgomery led a new version organized in the 1960s. A contemporary incarnation beginning in the 1990s (including Montgomery until his death in 2001) bills itself as the longest-running
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
band in the world. The Light Crust Doughboys were charter inductees into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in 1989, and were also inducted into the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...
. In December 2005, the Light Crust Doughboys Hall of Fame and Museum opened in
Quitman, Texas Quitman is a city and the county seat of Wood County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,942 at the 2020 census. It is most notable for being the birthplace of Academy Award-winning actress Sissy Spacek. The city was named for John A. Qui ...
. The Light Crust Doughboys Museum was later moved in 2015 to the Auvenshine Library at
Hill College Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened its doors in 1923, one year before North Central Texas College, which is the oldest continuously-operating community college in Texas because Hill College was closed d ...
in
Hillsboro, Texas Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Hill County, Texas, Hill County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hillsboro was named for Hill County. At one point during Bon ...
.


History


Original group

In 1931, Burrus Mill's president, W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, wanted to link radio and advertising to promote the company's Light Crust Flour. O'Daniel, who would later travel with the band and use its popularity as a springboard for his political ambitions, said the idea to start the band and link radio to advertising was pitched to him originally by
Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...
, Herman Arnspiger and
Milton Brown Milton Brown (September 8, 1903 – April 18, 1936) was an American band leader and vocalist who co-founded the genre of Western swing. His band was the first to fuse hillbilly hokum, jazz, and pop together into a unique, distinctly American hy ...
, who at the time were out-of-work musicians. There is disagreement about exactly when and on what radio station the Doughboys first broadcast, but it is generally accepted that by January 1931 the band had started playing on KFJZ-AM in Fort Worth. Their first broadcasts on the station included a sad prison song, "Twenty-One Years", and a popular fiddle song, "Chicken Reel". Their radio signature was their introduction by announcer-engineer Truett Kimzey: "The Light Crust Doughboys are on the air." Though the Doughboys' early broadcasts were well-received, the notion of using radio to advertise was still new, and O'Daniel was unconvinced. He also reportedly did not like the band's "hillbilly music," and canceled them at least once (though he almost immediately reinstated them). At first, he paid the band members $7.50 a week, but also required that they work a "regular" job at the mill: Wills drove a truck, Arnspiger worked on the dock loading flour, and Brown was a salesman. After a few weeks of brutally long days, the band members were allowed to stop working their "regular" jobs, but O'Daniel required them to be at the mill in their new practice room working on music eight hours each day. The band eventually won O'Daniel over by asking him to serve as their emcee during a broadcast. The Doughboys began to hit their stride in March 1931, when they chartered a bus to
Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
to perform at a bakers convention. The band had the bus wired for sound and they played impromptu gigs at stops along the way to large crowds. Impressed, O'Daniel purchased a seven-seater
Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...
and rigged it with placards imploring people to eat more bread. In 1933, during a goodwill tour for the
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
, Truett Kimzey, the radio station's sound engineer, who usually accompanied the band as its "master of ceremonies," could not get away from the station. O'Daniel replaced him, to great effect — O'Daniel was a natural at showmanship and promotion, and the crowds loved him. Wills and Tommy Duncan departed in 1933; and by 1935, O'Daniel had left Burrus Mill to start his own flour company with a new radio band,
Pat O'Daniel and His Hillbilly Boys Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys was a Texan Western swing band with its own radio program during the mid-1930s. Pat O'Daniel, the son of "Pappy" O'Daniel, was the band's leader. The Hillbilly Boys, associated with Pappy O'Daniel's flour co ...
. He was elected Texas governor in 1939. Their popularity led to a short-lived film career, when they appeared alongside
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
in the 1936 film, '' Oh, Susanna!''. The original Doughboys group disbanded in 1942 with U.S involvement in World War II, and its final recording was released in 1948.


Selected discography

*''Sunbonnet Sue'' (Victor, 1931) *''Memories Of Jimmie Rodgers'' (Vocalion, 1934) *''Beautiful Texas'' (Vocalion, 1934) *''Kelly Waltz'' (Vocalion, 1934) *''Roll Up The Carpet'' (Vocalion, 1934) *''My Million Dollar Smile'' (Vocalion, 1935) *''Prairie Lullaby'' (Vocalion, 1935) *'' My Blue Heaven'' (Vocalion, 1936) *''
The Eyes Of Texas "The Eyes of Texas" is the school spirit song of the University of Texas at Austin. It is set to the tune of " I've Been Working on the Railroad". Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the university sing the song at Texas Longhorns sports g ...
'' (Vocalion, 1937) *''
Beautiful Ohio "Beautiful Ohio" is the official song of the U.S. State of Ohio. History The first lyrics were written in 1918 by Ballard MacDonald and the music by Robert A. "Bobo" King, who used the pseudonym Mary Earl. The melody is partly based on " Song o ...
'' (Vocalion, 1938) *''It Makes No Difference Now'' (Vocalion, 1939) *''Blue Eyed Sally'' (Vocalion, 1939) *''Rainbow'' (Vocalion, 1940) *''
The Cattle Call "The Cattle Call" is a song written and recorded in 1934 by American songwriter and musician Tex Owens. The melody was adapted from Bruno Rudzinksi's 1928 recording "Pawel Walc". It became a signature song for Eddy Arnold. Members of the Western Wr ...
'' (Vocalion, 1940) *''Too Late'' (Okeh, 1941) *''Sweet Sally'' (Okeh, 1942) *''Rainbow'' (Columbia, 1948; reissue)


Interim years

During the following decades, leader Smokey Montgomery kept the band going in some form. In 1969, the Doughboys began recording again; and in 1973, the band took part in the last recording session for Wills in Dallas for the album, ''For the Last Time''. In 1977, Texas State Resolution No. 463 recognised the Doughboys for their contributions to Texas history and Texas music.


Current group

In 1983, musician and producer
Art Greenhaw Art Greenhaw (born July 14, 1954) is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer who was awarded the Grammy Award in 2003 for the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album for ''We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Bl ...
booked the Doughboys to play at the Mesquite Folk Festival, which Greenhaw had founded. He became excited about the prospects for reviving the band, which had been working only sporadically for several years. In 1993, Greenhaw joined the group as bassist; and as co-producer, he added horns to its sound, bringing about a new type of "country jazz" influenced by the old swing sound. Other members included Jerry Elliott (since 1960), Bill Simmons, John Walden, Jim Baker (since 1993) and Dale Cook. In 1995, the Texas Legislature declared the Doughboys the "official music ambassadors of the Lone Star State"; and they continue to perform today. The band's collaborations with gospel singer James Blackwood earned Grammy nominations in 1998, 1999 and 2001; and in 2005, ''Southern Meets Soul: An American Gospel Jubilee'', earned a Grammy nomination for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Album. Their 2005 album, ''20th Century Gospel : From Hymns to Blackwood Brothers Tribute to Christian Country'', included contributions from Greenhaw,
the Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...
, and
Nokie Edwards Nole Floyd "Nokie" Edwards (May 9, 1935 – March 12, 2018) was an American musician and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was primarily a guitarist, best known for his work with The Ventures, and was known in Japan as the 'Ki ...
.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
commented that it was "A pristinely recorded and expertly played slice of truly American music, 20th Century Gospel is an uplifting work that resonates with the participants' obvious love of making music." In 2006, in conjunction with the Diamond Anniversary of the Light Crust Doughboys, ASC (America Sejung Corporation) were commissioned to produce a limited edition series of seven fretted musical instruments. In collaboration with Art Greenhaw as technical advisor, these included a banjo, mandolin (with pickup), electric bass, and both hollow and solid-body electric guitars. The models were produced in a customised "Biscuit Brown", with its burst-edge fade resembling an oven-baked biscuit in color. In 2014, the Doughboys collaborated with Grant Maloy Smith on an album called ''Roots Gospel Round the USA: From Texas to New York.'' Smith sang lead vocal on several songs, and also contributed a song of his own, "Where Main Street Ends." In October 2019, the Doughboys announced plans for a worldwide tour to celebrate their forthcoming milestone. The 90th Anniversary Light Crust Doughboys Big Show Band & Review was launched, in conjunction with a four set CD and double DVD issue.


Grammy Award listing


Publications

*''The Ultimate All-Day Singing Songbook'', Marvin Montgomery & Art Greenhaw, 1999, Mel Bay Publications, Incorporated, CD / Hardback book, *''The Light Crust Doughboys Songbook'', Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery & Art Greenhaw, 2001, Mel Bay Publications, Incorporated, CD / Hardback book,


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

*
Video clip of The Light Crust Doughboys performing the "Tiger Rag"
from the 1936
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
movie, '' Oh, Susanna''.
The Light Crust Doughboys at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Video clip of Marvin Montgomery playing and talking about the Light Crust Doughboys history

Video on the collaboration of Art Greenhaw, Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery, and Neil Hess which resulted in two ballet productions starring the music of the Light Crust Doughboys
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1931 Western swing musical groups Country music groups from Texas Vocalion Records artists