Brown was born in Cottonwood, Arizona; at an early age his family moved to Kirksville, Indiana.

[citation needed] In the early 1980s, he appeared on stage with Rank and File as the replacement for Alejandro Escovedo.

[citation needed] By the mid-1980s, Brown was teaching guitar at the Hank Thompson School of Country Music at Rogers State University, in Claremore, Oklahoma.

[6] Brown has stated that the invention of the guit-steel was always a matter of convenience so that he could play both lap steel and lead guitar during live performances and not directly motivated by a desire to be a "one man band".

[6] Brown quickly became a local success in Austin, Texas, as the house band at the Continental Club.

Brown's music has been showcased on various television series and movie soundtracks, including Me, Myself & Irene, SpongeBob SquarePants and the 2005 Dukes of Hazzard remake, in which he also played the narrator.

[citation needed] Beginning in August 2006, Brown joined Webb Wilder's tour of American minor league baseball stadiums.

He reprised his role in an episode ("World of Hurt, BC") of Adult Swim's Xavier: Renegade Angel created by rock band PFFR.