Smokey Montgomery

Marvin "Junior" "Smokey" Montgomery was an American country swing musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer from Texas, best known as the banjo player for the Light Crust Doughboys. See also Marvin Montgomery. Born in Rinard, IA, on March 7, 1913, died 2001. Took the name "Montgomery" after the movie star Robert Montgomery (1904-1981). Originally known as "Junior Montgomery", the Doughboys changed his named to "Smokey" because he played so fast his hand blurred on TV broadcasts. Montgomery joined the Texas Wanderers in 1934, and then the legendary Light Crust Doughboys in October 1935. He was appointed bandleader in 1948 and remained in that role until his death in 2001. From the early 1950s to 1962 he was also the musical director of the Big D Jamboree, a weekly radio show syndicated nationally from Dallas - The Doughboys performed as the house band under the name Country Gentlemen. Under the same name they backed Elvis Presley on one of his early tours. In the 1960s he helped form the Dallas folk groups The Banjo Band From The Levee and The Levee Singers. From the early through mid 1970's Montgomery also worked as an arranger for the Texas Gospel label Rainbow Sound Inc. In the 1980s Montgomery formed a Dixieland group, Smokey and the Bearkats. In 1989 he formed The Dallas Banjo Band. In 1991 he was inducted into The Western Swing Halls of Fame in Seattle and Nashville. In 1995 the 74th Texas Legislature honored Montgomery as "a national treasure". In 1998 Montgomery was made the first member of the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and the Jazz Banjo Festival held there placed him in its Ring of Honor. In February 2011 he received a Grammy nomination posthumously in the category of southern, country or bluegrass gospel album for The Great Gospel Hit Parade.