Light Crust Doughboys

[Jim Cohen]

from www.tipworld.com

LIGHT CRUST DOUGHBOYS STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 70 YEARS


The Light Crust Doughboys started in 1930 when Burrus Mills began sponsoring a string band to promote its flour on the radio. The band's four members included fiddler Bob Wills, guitarist Herman Arnspiger,guitarist Derwood Brown, and vocalist Milton Brown. The young musicians began experimenting with playing old-time fiddle tunes with a jazz beat. At first, the quartet was expected to work a full day at the flour mill and play the early morning and noon radio broadcasts.
The schedule proved too onerous for Arnspiger, who left the band. He was followed a few months later by Milton and Derwood Brown, who went on to form the seminal western swing band the Musical Brownies. In 1933, Bob Wills was fired for drinking on the job, and he started the
band that grew into the famous Texas Playboys. The Light Crust Doughboys continued, with members coming and going until 1935, when tenor banjo player Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery joined the band.
Montgomery was a veteran of numerous Dallas-area jazz bands, and he brought a new sophistication to the string band. Over the next few years, the Doughboys were one of the most progressive western swing bands in Texas. The band broke up during World War II as members joined the military, but in 1946, Montgomery reformed the group.
During the '50s, the Doughboys were the house band on the popular Dallas radio show "Big D Jamboree." The Light Crust Doughboys are still going strong under Montgomery's direction. He is now 84 years
old and has been a Doughboy for 62 years.