Although a group called
the Light Crust Doughboys existed sporadically from 1929 (when legendary Texas border radio figure, future governor, and all-around scalawag W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel first dubbed a Fort Worth Western swing band starring a young
Bob Wills with the name of his radio show's flour company sponsor) into the early years of the 21st century, just about everyone agrees that the band's key period was the five years after manager O'Daniel was fired in 1936 and before the band split in 1942 as its members were drafted into the war effort. Led by fiddle player
Kenneth Pitts and banjo player
Smokey Montgomery (who would remain the group's sole constant member until his death n 2001), this edition of
the Light Crust Doughboys split their time between novelty tunes (like "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy [From Dumas]" and the sly double entendre "We Found Her Little Pussy Cat") and hot, jazzy Western swing workouts (like their signature tune, "Tiger Rag," and the almost klezmer-like "Clarinet Marmalade"). This budget-line 26-track anthology features decent sound and just about all of the key songs from the group's best and best-known period. Start here.