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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.

This article is about the band leader. For the Tennessee politician, see Milton Brown (politician).

Milton Brown

Milton Brown

"Father of Western Swing"

(1903-09-08)September 8, 1903

April 18, 1936(1936-04-18) (aged 32)
Fort Worth, Texas, US

Vocals

1930–1936

Victor, Bluebird, Decca

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.

Milton Brown & the Founding of Western Swing by Cary Ginell (, 1994), ISBN 978-0252020414

University of Illinois Press

Milton Brown website: Photos, track lists, audio files, links

at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

Milton Brown recordings

Milton Brown bio at TSHA

Milton Brown at FindAGrave