His father, Hubert, insisted he learn an instrument so he received formal violin lessons from Wylbert Brown, who was also teaching Kenneth Pitts.

[2] In 1931, he joined Pitts to form The Southern Melody Boys with Bob Wren and Burke Reeder, which became the first string band to feature improvised solos, patterned after jazz violinist Joe Venuti, who Brower idolized.

[7] Brower learned the art of breakdown fiddling from Brown's banjoist, Ocie Stockard, and developed a free-swinging style which became the cornerstone of fiddlers in Western swing bands.

[2] The group had a regular spot on KTAT-AM,[8] but frequently performed in Waco, where Brower met Jeff Knight, a breakdown fiddle player with whom he became good friends.

[9] After Brown's death in 1936, Brower joined the staff of WRR-AM in Dallas, where he worked for $14 a week,[10] and played dances with Roy Newman and His Boys.

[14] In 1955, Brower became a regular performer on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri for several years, and in 1960, was playing with the Ft. Worth-based Bob Bohm Trio.

On November 21, 1965, Dean performed at Carnegie Hall, and during a party later at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Brower died suddenly from a perforated ulcer,[2] a week short of his 51st birthday.