Robert Lee Dunn (February 5, 1908 – May 27, 1971) was an American Western swing steel guitarist.DeCurtis, Present Tense, p. 17-18: In San Antonio Rose, his exhaustive study of life and music of western-swing kingpin Bob wills and his Texas Playboys, Charles Townshend [sic] offers fragmentary but suggestive evidence that T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian, the front-runners in the first generation of black electric guitarists, were inspired, at least in part, by the early amplified playing of white musicians such as Dunn and McAuliffe. ... Western-swing and jazz present a similar continuum on the white side of the tracks, with men like McAuliffe a jazzy but heavily country-inflected style, while mavericks like Dunn played a kind of pure, futuristic jazz all their own. And every one of these player, black and white, was solidly grounded in the blues." Influenced by influential Hawaiian lap steel guitar player Sol Hoʻopiʻi, Dunn played in his own original blues-influenced style and was one of the first to record an electric guitar, preceding other country music guitarists following him shortly. He preceded by over three years George Barnes (with Big Bill Broonzy in 1938), Leonard Ware and, slightly later, Eddie Durham.
On January 27, 1935, Dunn became one of the first musicians to record an electrically amplified instrument as a member of Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies.Oliphant, "Texas Jazz", p. 23: "Prior to Durham's first recorded performance, Bob Dunn had recorded with the Texas Western Swing unit of Milton Brown and His Music Brownies on January 27 and 28, 1935. On this date, Dunn played an amplified steel guitar, which primarily was utilized for Hawaiian music."
Dunn also played steel guitar in numerous other Western swing groups including those of Cliff Bruner and one of Moon Mullican's earlier bands. Dunn also had his own group, The Vagabonds, featuring Mullican and Bruner.
Dunn was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1992.
References
Bibliography DeCurtis, Anthony. Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture. Duke University Press, 1992) Ginell, Cary. Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994. Oliphant, Dave. "Texas Jazz: 1920-50". The Roots of Texas Music edited by Lawrence Clayton, Joe W. Specht, pp. 37–65. Texas A&M University Press, 2005.
External links DUNN, ROBERT LEE (1908-1971)—Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Dunn, Robert Lee (Bob)—Handbook of Texas Online. Bob Dunn recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.