UBL is the direct source of the following biography written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide

                        Milton Brown was one of the fathers of Western Swing, a vocalist and
                 bandleader who was one of the first to fuse country, jazz, and pop together into a
                 unique, distinctly American hybrid. Along with Bob Wills -- who he performed with
                 at the beginning of this career -- Brown developed the sound and style of Western
                 Swing in the early '30s and for a while he and his band, the Musical Brownies,
                 were just as popular as Wills and his Texas Playboys. Tragically, Milton Brown's
                 career was cut short in 1936 when he died in a car accident, just as he was
                 poised to break into national stardom.

                 Born in Stephensville, Texas in 1903, Milton Brown moved to Fort Worth, Texas in
                 1918. After graduating from high school in 1925, he worked as a cigar saleman,
                 but he lost his job when the Great Depression hit in the late '20s. Brown began his
                 musical career in 1930, when he happened to meet Bob Wills at a local Fort
                 Worth dance. The Wills Fiddle Band was performing at the dance and Brown
                 joined the group on a chorus of "St. Louis Blues." Wills was impressed with
                 Brown's voice and immediatelly asked him and his guitarist brother, Derwood, to
                 join the band.

                 The Wills Fiddle Band played medicine shows around Texas and landed a regular
                 radio spot on WBAP, where they played a show sponsored by Aladdin Lamp
                 Company, who had the band change their name to the Aladdin Laddies. In early
                 1991, the group was hired by the Light Crust Flour Company -- which was run by
                 Burrus Mill and Elevator Company -- to appear daily on the radio station KFJZ. The
                 company, which was managed by W. Lee O'Daniel who also hosted the radio
                 shows, had the group rename themselves the Light Crust Doughboys.

                 The Light Crust Doughboys were an instant success, and soon O'Daniel moved
                 them first to another radio station, then syndicated the program statewide. The
                 Doughboys were playing cowboy songs, jazz, blues, and popular songs -- a
                 repertoire so diverse that the band's audience continued to expand. In February of
                 1932, they recorded a single for Victor under the name the Fort Worth Doughboys.

                 The band was playing dance music and they wanted to play at dances, but
                 O'Daniel was reluctant to let the group play outside of their radio shows. He also
                 was hesitant to pay them much money, which greatly angered Milton Brown. In
                 September of 1932, Brown left the band after he had a argument about money with
                 O'Daniel.

                 After leaving the Light Crust Doughboys, Brown formed the first Western Swing
                 band, the Musical Brownies. The first incarnation of the Brownies featured Brown,
                 guitarist Durwood Brown, bassist Wanna Coffman, Ocie Stockard on tenor banjo,
                 and fiddle player Jesse Ashlock. Shortly afterward, pianist Fred Calhoun and fiddle
                 player Cecil Brower (who replaced Ashlock) joined the group. Like the Light Crust
                 Doughboys, the Musical Brownies played a mixture of country, pop, and jazz, but
                 the Brownies had a harder dance edge than their predecessors.

                 Almost immediately, Brown and His Musical Brownies were a huge success. The
                 group had a regular spot on the radio station KTAT and drew large crowds at
                 Texas dances. In April of 1934, the band recorded eight songs for Bluebird; they
                 recorded another ten for the label in August.

                 Toward the end of 1934, the Brownies added an electric steel guitarist called Bob
                 Dunn -- the first musician to play an electric instrument in country music. In
                 January of 1935, the band signed with Decca records and recorded 36 songs for
                 the label. Released as singles over the course of 1935, the songs helped establish
                 the band as the most popular Western Swing band in Texas. In March of 1936, the
                 Brownies travelled to New Orleans to record their second set of sessions for
                 Decca. By this time, fiddler brower had been replaced by Cliff Bruner. At these
                 sessions, the Brownies cut about 50 songs, which were issued throughout 1936
                 and 1937.

                 In April of 1936, Brown suffered a major car accident. Although he wasn't killed on
                 impact, he died five days after the crash, from pneumonia. Following Milton's
                 death, Durwood Brown kept the Musical Brownies together for two years,
                 recording a dozen sides for Decca in 1937. At the time of his death, Milton Brown
                 rivalled Bob Wills in popularity. Although he never became as famous as Wills, he
                 was equally important in the development of Western Swing -- without him, the
                 genre as we know it wouldn't exist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide