The Light Crust Doughboys

About

American western swing band founded in Forth Worth, Texas, in 1931.

In 1930, singer Milton Brown and his brother, guitarist Derwood Brown met fiddler Bob Wills and guitarist Herman Arnspiger and joined their group, The Wills Fiddle Group, shortly renamed The Aladdin Laddies. The group later hired banjoist Cliff Johnson and a second fiddler, Jesse Ashlock and in 1931 acquired sponsorship from W. Lee O'Daniel and the Burrus Mill company, becoming The Light Crust Doughboys. The group went on to become a popular radio act throughout Texas and beyond.

Milton left in 1932 to lead his own band, Milton Brown And His Brownies, taking Derwood & Ashlock with him. Wills was fired in 1934 and started his own group, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. The Light Crust Doughboys continued under O'Daniel's leadership until Burrus fired him in 1935, and he went on to found W. Lee O'Daniel And His Hillbilly Boys.

The group continued until Burrus Mill ended the show in 1942. Reformed in 1946, the band struggled to regain radio popularity and by the 1950s were off the air. However, the band continued, led for decades by Smokey Montgomery. Art Greenhaw joined in the 1990s, and continues to lead the group to the present day.

The group have had the greatest and longest success of all the western swing bands in the Fort Worth-Dallas area. They have won numerous awards including;
Texas Cowboy Hall Of Fame
Texas Radio Hall Of Fame
Texas Western Swing Hall Of Fame
Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
International Country Gospel Hall Of Fame
Cowtown Society Of Western Music-Western Swing Hero-Award
Texas International Music Association Hall Of Fame
8 Time Grammy Award Nominee