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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 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 Fort Worth, Texas, from 1931 to 1936.

Along with Bob Wills, 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 Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Brown's career was cut short in 1936 when he died following a car accident.

Birth and Death Data: Born September 7, 1903 (Stephenville), Died April 18, 1936 (Fort Worth)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1932 - 1937

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, leader, director, composer, lyricist, speaker

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 109 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-70670 10-in. 2/9/1932 Sunbonnet Sue Light Crust Doughboys Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars composer, lyricist, leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-70671 10-in. 2/9/1932 Nancy Jane Light Crust Doughboys Male vocal ensemble, with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars composer, lyricist, vocalist  
Victor BVE-82795 10-in. 4/4/1934 Brownie's stomp Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with piano leader, composer  
Victor BVE-82796 10-in. 4/4/1934 Joe Turner blues Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with piano leader  
Victor BVE-82797 10-in. 4/4/1934 Oh you pretty woman Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo and piano leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-82798 10-in. 4/4/1934 My precious sonny boy Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo and piano leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-82799 10-in. 4/4/1934 Swinging on the garden gate Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo and piano leader, vocalist, lyricist, composer  
Victor BVE-82800 10-in. 4/4/1934 Do the hula lou Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo and piano leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-82801 10-in. 4/4/1934 Garbage man blues Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo, vocal chorus, and piano leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-82802 10-in. 4/4/1934 Four, five or six times Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies String band, with male vocal solo, vocal chorus, and piano leader, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83860 10-in. 8/8/1934 Where you been so long, Corinne? Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83861 10-in. 8/8/1934 Talking about you Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Vocal and instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83862 10-in. 8/8/1934 Just sitting on top of the world Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83863 10-in. 8/8/1934 Take it slow and easy Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83864 10-in. 8/8/1934 Get along, Cindy Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Vocal and instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83865 10-in. 8/8/1934 Trinity waltz Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Instrumental ensemble director  
Victor BVE-83866 10-in. 8/8/1934 Love land and you Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with talk director, speaker, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83867 10-in. 8/8/1934 This morning, this evening so soon Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Vocal and instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83868 10-in. 8/8/1934 Girl of my dreams Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Victor BVE-83869 10-in. 8/8/1934 Loveless love Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies Vocal and instrumental ensemble director, vocalist  
Brunswick DAL230 10-in. 6/7/1937 Sunbonnet Sue Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys String band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Decca 60610 10-in. 3/3/1936 Somebody's been using that thing Milton Brown vocalist, leader  
Decca 60611 10-in. 3/3/1936 The Sheik of Araby Milton Brown vocalist, leader  
Decca 60612 10-in. 3/3/1936 Beale Street Mama Milton Brown vocalist, leader  
Decca 60613 10-in. 3/3/1936 Mama don't allow it Milton Brown vocalist, leader  
(Results 1-25 of 109 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Brown, Milton," accessed March 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104157.

Brown, Milton. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104157.

"Brown, Milton." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104157

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