A Brief History

The Light Crust Doughboys is a quintessential American Western swing band from Texas organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. In addition to launching Western swing pioneers Bob Wills and Milton Brown, it provided a platform for many of the best musicians of the genre, including Tommy Duncan, Cecil Brower, John “Knocky” Parker and Kenneth Pitts.

The original group disbanded in 1942, although band member Marvin “Smokey” Montgomery led a new version organized in the 1960s. A contemporary incarnation beginning in the 1990s (including Montgomery until his death in 2001) bills itself as the longest-running country music band in the world.

The Light Crust Doughboys were charter inductees into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in 1989, and were also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In December 2005, the Light Crust Doughboys Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Quitman, Texas.

Discography

1932 Fort Worth Doughboys – Nancy Jane / Sunbonnett Sue [Single]
1933 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – On To Victory Mr. Roosevelt / In The Fall Of ’29 [Single]
1933 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – I Want Somebody To Cry Over Me / Memories Of Jimmie Rogers [Single]
1933 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Beautiful Texas / Blue Bonnet Waltz [Single]
1933 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Texas Breakdown / Doughboy Rag [Single]
1933 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Your Own Sweet Darling Wife / Please Come Back [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – My Brown Eyed Texas Rose / She’s Still That Old Sweetheart Of Mine [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Rochester Schottische / Kelly Waltz [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Put Me In Your Pocket / Gangster’s Moll [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Heel And Toe Polka / Alamo Waltz [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – When We Reach Our Happy Home / When It’s Round Up Time In Heaven [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Saturday Night Rag / Roll Up The Carpet [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Ridin’ Ole Paint And Leadin’ Old Bald / Texas Plains [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Texas Centennial March / The Govenor’s Ball [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – There’s A Little Grey Mother Dreaming / My Mary [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Bill Cheatum / Killem [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – When They Baptised Sister Lucy / Thirty First Street Blues [Single]
1934 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – How Beautiful Heaven Must Be / That City For Shut Ins [Single]
1935 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – My Million Dollar Smile / Old Joe Clark [Single]
1935 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – Heel And Toe Polka / Alamo Waltz [Single]
1935 W. Lee O’Daniel And His Light Crust Doughboys – My Brown Eyed Texas Rose / She’s Still That Old Sweetheart Of Mine [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – My Pretty Quadroon / There’s An Empty Cot In The Bunkhouse Tonight [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – Prairie Lullaby / El Rancho Grande [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – Ragtime Annie / Milenberg Joys [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Cowboys Dream / Carry Me Back To The Lone Prairie [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – There’s No Disappointment In Heaven / The Old Rugged Cross [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – Nobody’s Darling But Mine / The Waltz You Saved For Me [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – Rural Rhythm / In A Little Gypsy Tea [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – A Jug Of Wine And You / Hillbilly Stomp [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – Chinatown My Chinatown / I Never Knew [Single]
1935 The Light Crust Doughboys – My Blue Heaven / My Melancholy Baby [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – Saddle Your Blues To A Wild Mustang / I Like Bananas (Because They Have No Bones) [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – I’m A Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas) / Did You Ever See A String Band Swing [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Wheel On The Wagon Is Broken / Lost [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – All My Life / It’s Been So Long [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – Uncle Zeke / Cross Eyed Cowboy From Abilene [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – Happy Cowboy / Oh! Susanna [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – Little Hill-Billy Heart Throb /When The Moon Shines On The Mississippi Valley [Single]
1936 The Light Crust Doughboys – I Have Found A Honey / My Budd [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Ragtime Annie / Green River Waltz [Single Split With Clifford Gross & Muriel Campbell]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Blues Guitar / Avalon [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Everybody’s Out So Let’s Stay In Tonight / Confession’s [Single Split With W. Lee O’Daniel’s Hillbilly Boys]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys –  In A Little Red Barn / Beaumont Rag [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Washington And Lee Swing / The Eyes Of Texas [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – If I Don’t Love You (There Ain’t A Cow In Texas) / Emmaline [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Roll Along Jordan / Dusky Stevedore [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Gig-A-Wig Blues / Just Once To Often [Single]
1937 The Light Crust Doughboys – Beer Cat Mama / There’s Evil In Ye Children  [Single Split With W. Lee O’Daniels Hillbilly Boys]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Beautiful Texas / Long Long Ago [Single Split With W. Lee O’Daniels Hillbilly Boys]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Clarinet Marmalade / Tom Cat Rag [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Cattle Call / Pretty Little Dear [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Hills Of Old Wyomin’ / Beautiful Ohio [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Waiting On Robert E. Lee / Birth Of The Blues [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Three Shift-Less Skonks / Sitting On Top Of The World [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Blue Hours / Stumbling [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Knocky-Knocky / Sweeter Than An Angel [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Dirty Hangover Blues / Dear Evalina, Sweet Evalina [Single Split With W. Lee O’Daniels Hillbilly Boys]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – I Got Mine / Slow Down Mr. Brown
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – It Makes No Difference Now / Troubles [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Pussy, Pussy, Pussy / Gin Mills Blues [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Baby, Give Me Some Of That / The Farmer’s Not In The Dell [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Song Of Hawaii / That Old Fashioned Way [Single Split With Lee O’Daniel Hillbilly Boys]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Thousand Miles Blues / Foot Warmer [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – (New) Jeep’s Blues / Dirty Dish Rag Blues / Blue Eyed Sally [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – You’re The Only Star (In My Blue Heaven) / Blue Eyed Sally [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Budded Rose / Zenda Waltz Song [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Someday Sweet Heart / Roll On Mississippi,Roll On [Single]
1938 The Light Crust Doughboys – Weary Blues / Gulf Coast Blues
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Mary Lou /If I Didn’t Care [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Mama Won’t Let Me / We Must Have Beer [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Thinking Of You / Two More Years And I’ll Be Free [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Mama Gets What She Wants / She Gave Me The Bird [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – We Found Her Little Pussy Cat / You Got What I Want [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – My Gal’s With My Pal Tonight / I Had Someone Else Before I Had You [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Little Rock Get-A-Way / Tea For Two [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – I’ll Keep On Loving You / Little Rubber Dolly [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Oh Baby Blues / Beer Drinking Mama [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Horsie Keep Your Tail Up / Truck Driver’s Blues [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Let’s Make Believe We’re Sweethearts / Three Naughty Kittens [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Marinita / Careless [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – In Ole’ Oklahoma / Texas Song Of Pride [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – Jazzbo Joe / Green Valley Trot [Single]
1939 The Light Crust Doughboys – All Because Of Lovin’ You / If I Had My Way
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Cattle Call / Pretty Little Dear [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Goodbye Little Darling / Alice Blue Gown [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Want A Feller / Cripple Creek [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Rainbow / South [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – If You’ll Come Back / Snow Deer [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Mean Mean Mama / Little Honky Tonk Headache [Single]
1940 The Light Crust Doughboys – Good Gracious Gracie! / She’s Too Young (To Play With The Boys) [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Little Bar Fly / The Bartenders Daughter [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Sweet, Sally / Zip, Zip, Zipper [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Be Honest With Me / Two Late [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Slufoot At The Levee / Can’t Ease My Evil Mind [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Don’t Lie To An Innocent Maiden / Honky Tonk Shuffle [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Five Long Years / Won’t You Wait Another Year [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Bear Creek Hop / I Want A Waitress [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – It’s Your Worry Now / After You Said You Were Leaving [Single]
1941 The Light Crust Doughboys – Have I Lost Your Love Forever (Little Darling) / Why Did You Lie To Me [Single]
1941 Light Crust Doughboy Sacred Quartet – This Life Is Hard To Understanding / In The Morning [Single]
1941 Light Crust Doughboy Sacred Quartet – Beyond The Clouds / This Life Is Hard To Understand [Single]
1941 Light Crust Doughboy Sacred Quartet – In The Morning / I Know I’ll See My Mother Again [Single]
1947 Jack Perry – Pappy’s Banjo Boogie / It’s A Dirty Shame [Single]
1947 Jack Perry And The Light Crust Doughboys – New Sow Song / Fisherman’s Polka [Single]
1947 Jack Perry – II Cried And Cried And Cried / Ezra’s Waltz [Single]
1947 Jack Perry And The Light Crust Doughboys – Oklahoma Waltz / Oh My Aching Back [Single]
1947 Mel Cox and His Flying X Ranch Boys (formerly Jack Perry And The Light Crust Doughboys) – Starlight Waltz / Billy Goat Rag [Single]
1948 Mel Cox and His Flying X Ranch Boys (formerly Jack Perry And The Light Crust Doughboys) – I’m Gonna Be Gone, Gone, Gone / Honolulu Lou [Single]
1948 Mel Cox and His Flying X Ranch Boys (formerly Jack Perry And The Light Crust Doughboys) – No Suh! / Guitar Jump [Single]
1959 The Light Crust Doughboys – The Light Crust Doughboys [Album]
196? Light Crust Doughboys – Original Hit Songs, Vol. 1
1969 The Light Crust Doughboys – We’re The Light Crust Doughboys From Burrus [Album]
1979 The Light Crust Doughboys – Religious Memories [Album]
1981 The Light Crust Doughboys – Golden Anniversary Album [Album]
1981 The Light Crust Doughboys – String Band Swing [Compilation Album]
1981 The Light Crust Doughboys – String Band Swing Vol. II  [Compilation Album]
1982 The Light Crust Doughboys – Western Swing: 1936-39 [Compilation Album]
1985 The Light Crust Doughboys – 150 Years Of Texas Country Music [Album]
1990 The Light Crust Doughboys – 1936 Western Swing Live: Rare Radio Broadcasts [Album]
1993 The Light Crust Doughboys – Texas Swing – The Light Crust Doughboy Way [Album]
1994 The Light Crust Doughboys – Yesterday & Today [Album]
1995 Smokey Montgomery And The Light Crust Doughboys – Remember Me [Album]
1996 The Light Crust Doughboys – Around The World – Tunes We Played In Europe [Album]
1996 The Light Crust Doughboys – Western Swing Memories (1936–1941) [Compilation Album]
1996 The Light Crust Doughboys – Silver Age Collection [Box Sets]
1997 James Blackwood And The Light Crust Doughboys – Keep Lookin’ Up: The Texas Swing Sessions [Album]
1997 Light Crust Doughboys & SMU Mustang Band – The Highroad On The Hilltop [Album]
1998 The Light Crust Doughboys – God Bless Amarillo (And All The Cowboys, Too) [Album]
1998 The Light Crust Doughboys & James Blackwood Quartet – They Gave The World A Smile: The Stamps Quartet Tribute Album [Album]
1998 The Light Crust Doughboys – Folk & Blues of the American Southwest [Album]
1999 James Blackwood & The Light Crust Doughboys – Red River Valley Memories: The Texas Swing Sessions Vol. 2 [Album]
1999 James Blackwood & The Light Crust Doughboys – The Essential James Blackwood and The Light Crust Doughboys [Album]
1999 James Blackwood & The Light Crust Doughboys – The Ultimate All-Day Singing Songbook Book [Booklet / Album]
2000 James Blackwood, The Light Crust Doughboys, The Jordanaires – The Great Gospel Hit Parade: From Memphis To Nashville To Texas [Album]
2000 The Light Crust Doughboys With James Blackwood & Tom Brumley – Steel Away [Album]
2000 The Light Crust Doughboys – Doughboy Rocks [Album]
2000 Nokie Edward And The Light Crust Doughboys – Adventure In Country Swing [Album]
2000 Nokie Edward And The Light Crust Doughboys – A Surf N’ Swing, Fret N’ String, Christmas [Album]
2000 The Light Crust Doughboys – Hot Swing & Cool Rockabilly [Album]
2000 The Light Crust Doughboys & Tom Brumley – The Light Crust Doughboys Sessions: Instrumentals [Album]
2002 The Light Crust Doughboys – Lone Star State Swing [Album]
2002 Light Crust Doughboys – Early Years Plus [Compilation Album]
2002 Ann Margret And The Jordanaires, The Light Crust Doughboys With James Blackwood – God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions [Album]    ‎
2003 James Blackwood and The James Blackwood Quartet, The Jordanaires, Larry Ford, & The Light Crust Doughboys – We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Blackwood Tribute Album [Compilation Album]
2003 Engelbert Humperdinck With The Jordanaires, The Blackwood Brothers Quartet, The Light Crust Doughboys – Always Hear The Harmony: The Gospel Sessions [Album]
2003 Nokie Edward And The Light Crust Doughboys – Guitars Over Texas [Album]
2005 The Light Crust Doughboys – Guitar Jump: 1947-1948 [Compilation Album]
2005 The Jordanaires, The Light Crust Doughboys, Nokie Edwards & Larry “T-Byrd” Gordon – Southern Meets Soul An American Gospel Jubilee  [Album]
2005 The Jordanaires, Art Greenhaw & The Light Crust Doughboy, Nokie Edward – 20th Century Gospel: From Hymns to Blackwood Brothers Tribute to Christian Country [Album]
2005 Smokey Montgomery / The Light Crust Doughboys – So This Is The Southland
2006 The Light Crust Doughboys – 75th Anniversary Album; Bill Simmons Tribute [Album]
2006 Light Crust Doughboys – Texas-Style Steel Guitar [Album]
2006 Light Crust Doughboys – Just Once Too Often [Compilation Album]
2006 Art Greenhaw And The Light Crust Doughboys With The Jordanaires – Songs For All God’s Children [Album]
2006 Light Crust Doughboys – Favorite Piano and Guitar Classics, Vol. 1 [Compilation Album]
2007 Light Crust Doughboys – The Light Crust Doughboys 1936 – 1941 [Compilation Album] 
2009 Light Crust Doughboys – Texas Song Of Pride [Compilation Album]
2009 The Light Crust Doughboys – Best Of Western Swing [Compilation Album]
2010 The Light Crust Doughboys – Upper Crust: Best Of The Light Crust Doughboys [Album]
2010 Wills & The Light Crust Doughboys – 80th Anniversary, Western Swing Roots Music [Album]
2010 Wills & The Light Crust Doughboys – 80th Anniversary, Together Again
2010 Light Crust Doughboys – Golden Age Plus [Compilation Album]
2010 Light Crust Doughboys – The SMU Sessions  [Album]
2011 Nokie Edwards and The Light Crust Doughboys – Christmas In Guitarland
2011 Light Crust Doughboys – Roll Up The Carpet Volume 2  [Compilation Album]
2011 Light Crust Doughboys – 80th Anniversary Commemorative Album [Album]
2011 The Light Crust Doughboys and SMU Mustang Band – At Southern Methodist University [Album]
2011 Light Crust Doughboys – Best Of Texas Swing: 1931 Onward [Album]
2012 Light Crust Doughboys – Spiritual Cowboys [Album]
2014 Light Crust Doughboys – On Stage In Deep Ellum  [Album]
2014 Light Crust Doughboys & Grant Maloy Smith – Roots Gospel ‘Round The USA: From Texas To New York [Album]
2015 The Light Crust Doughboys – 85th Anniversary: The Vintage Texas Transcriptions [Compilation]
2016 Art Greenhaw And The Light Crust Doughboys – God’s Silver Soldiers [Album]
2017 Art Greenhaw: The Light Crust Doughboys – Studio Knights