Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery: A Life in Texas Music

John Mark Dempsey, University of North Texas

Abstract

The Light Crust Doughboys launched the careers of Bob Wills, who went on to legendary status as the "King of Western Swing," and W. Lee "Pappy" O’Daniel, who became a popular, but lightly regarded, governor of Texas and U.S. senator. Another original Doughboy, vocalist Milton Brown, was perhaps the most popular musical performer in Texas when he was killed in a car accident in 1936. The Doughboys’ popular noontime radio program became an integral part of daily life in Texas from the 1930s to the 1950s. The lives of Wills, O’Daniel, and Brown have been chronicled in full-scale biographies. But the man who became the Doughboys’ foundation, over an era lasting more than 65 years, was Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery, a four-string banjo virtuoso whose boundless energy led him into other venues as Las Vegas entertainer, television performer, hit-record producer, and musical impresario.

Recommended Citation

Dempsey, John Mark (2001) "Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery: A Life in Texas Music," Journal of Texas Music History: Vol. 1: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: http://ecommons.txstate.edu/jtmh/vol1/iss2/6