Biography
During the late 1930s classic phase of Western swing, Cliff Bruner ranked among the fiddlers who shaped the style by merging country and jazz. Leading his own Texas Wanderers, he secured a lasting place in country annals through an emphasis on straightforward vocal numbers whose lyrics addressed disillusionment and misfortune, rather than the polished, jazz-heavy arrangements favored by other Texas groups of the era. His version of Ted Daffan's "Truck Driver's Blues" is remembered as the first trucker song ever recorded.
Born in Houston, TX, in 1915, Bruner turned professional and traveled across Texas in pursuit of work by the late 1920s. Early jobs included the medicine-show circuit, where he performed with Dr. Scott's Medicine Show while the troupe sold its cure-all Liquidine Tonic. In 1934 he joined Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, the ensemble billed as "The Greatest String Band on Earth," and recorded nearly fifty titles with the group before Brown died in an auto accident in April 1936; the twin-fiddle sound that became a country staple for decades belonged to Bruner and classically trained violinist Cecil Brower.
Following Brown's death, Bruner returned to Houston and assembled the Texas Wanderers, also billed as Cliff Bruner & His Boys. The band secured a regular slot on Beaumont station KDFM, whose signal reached Cajun communities in southwestern Louisiana. Like other Western swing outfits, the group blended fiddle-led country with 1920s and 1930s pop and jazz, yet Bruner cultivated a markedly modern texture from the outset. He recruited electric steel guitarist Bob Dunn from the Brownies, added electric mandolinist Leo Raley, and featured barrelhouse pianist Moon Mullican. Decca sides by the Texas Wanderers filled jukeboxes along the industrialized Texas Gulf Coast; several numbers featuring vocalist Dickie McBride later earned recognition as early honky-tonk classics, among them the 1938 Floyd Tillman composition "It Makes No Difference Now" and the 1939 follow-up "Truck Driver's Blues."
In the early 1940s Bruner disbanded the Texas Wanderers but continued performing with Mullican and other musicians who were transforming Western swing into modern country, appearing with former Texas governor W. Lee O'Daniel and future Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis. Bruner and Mullican co-led a unit called the Showboys and cut further sides for Mercury and small Texas labels after World War II. By the early 1950s he largely withdrew from music to pursue an insurance career. The Western swing revival of the 1970s brought renewed attention to his influence; he appeared on Johnny Gimble's 1980 LP Texas Swing Pioneers and remained active as a performer well into his ninth decade. Bruner died of cancer on August 25, 2000, at the age of 85.
Born in Houston, TX, in 1915, Bruner turned professional and traveled across Texas in pursuit of work by the late 1920s. Early jobs included the medicine-show circuit, where he performed with Dr. Scott's Medicine Show while the troupe sold its cure-all Liquidine Tonic. In 1934 he joined Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, the ensemble billed as "The Greatest String Band on Earth," and recorded nearly fifty titles with the group before Brown died in an auto accident in April 1936; the twin-fiddle sound that became a country staple for decades belonged to Bruner and classically trained violinist Cecil Brower.
Following Brown's death, Bruner returned to Houston and assembled the Texas Wanderers, also billed as Cliff Bruner & His Boys. The band secured a regular slot on Beaumont station KDFM, whose signal reached Cajun communities in southwestern Louisiana. Like other Western swing outfits, the group blended fiddle-led country with 1920s and 1930s pop and jazz, yet Bruner cultivated a markedly modern texture from the outset. He recruited electric steel guitarist Bob Dunn from the Brownies, added electric mandolinist Leo Raley, and featured barrelhouse pianist Moon Mullican. Decca sides by the Texas Wanderers filled jukeboxes along the industrialized Texas Gulf Coast; several numbers featuring vocalist Dickie McBride later earned recognition as early honky-tonk classics, among them the 1938 Floyd Tillman composition "It Makes No Difference Now" and the 1939 follow-up "Truck Driver's Blues."
In the early 1940s Bruner disbanded the Texas Wanderers but continued performing with Mullican and other musicians who were transforming Western swing into modern country, appearing with former Texas governor W. Lee O'Daniel and future Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis. Bruner and Mullican co-led a unit called the Showboys and cut further sides for Mercury and small Texas labels after World War II. By the early 1950s he largely withdrew from music to pursue an insurance career. The Western swing revival of the 1970s brought renewed attention to his influence; he appeared on Johnny Gimble's 1980 LP Texas Swing Pioneers and remained active as a performer well into his ninth decade. Bruner died of cancer on August 25, 2000, at the age of 85.