The Crystal Springs Ramblers

The Crystal Springs Ramblers were one of the western swing bands to spring up in the wake of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys and the Light Crust Doughboys. They recorded only four sides, all for Vocalion, of which "Fort Worth Stomp" is the most enduring. Their membership circa 1938 included Link Davis on vocals and fiddle, Earl Driver playing tenor sax, Joe Holley on fiddle, J.B. Brinkley on guitar, Morris Deason on banjo, Lauren Mitchell on piano, Jimmy Makado on bass, and Homer Kinnaird on the drums. The group took its name from the Crystal Springs Ballroom, northwest of Fort Worth, where they were the house band. Numerous musicians got their start there before moving onto bigger and better bands, and the ballroom's (and presumably the band's) most satsified patrons reportedly included bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. J. B. Brinkley would later be a member of the Light Crust Doughboys and a major Fort Worth-based session guitarist. ~ Bruce Eder