Milton Brown

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
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	composer, leader
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	vocalist, leader
Victor	BVE-82798	10-in.	4/4/1934	My precious sonny boy	Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies	String band, with male vocal solo and piano	vocalist, leader
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	composer, lyricist, vocalist, leader
Victor	BVE-82800	10-in.	4/4/1934	Do the hula lou	Milton Brown ; Musical Brownies	String band, with male vocal solo and piano	vocalist, leader
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	vocalist, leader
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	vocalist, leader
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	vocalist, director
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 November 25, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104157.

Brown, Milton. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104157.

"Brown, Milton." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.