Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

The Chuck Wagon Gang are best remembered as a close harmony country gospel quartet. The band formed in 1935, the original line up was formed from members of the Carter family from Texas (not to be confused with the more well known Carter family of Virginia). They made their first recordings the following year and during their 60 year career they cut over 400 tracks and sold over 40 million records, with a variety of personnel, both family and unrelated. Amazingly in all that time their style never changed: pure Southern rural shape-note singing, and they were unusual in the genre in using female lead voices. Over the years the numerous Chuck Wagon Gang line-ups have recorded a gigantic stack of recordings. This selection of songs, originally released in 1984, is typical. Full of familiar material, such as "One Day At A Time", "Whispering Hope", "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder", with clear lead vocals and solid harmonies, and whilst the run time might seem mean, only just over 25 minutes for 10 songs, the track length is just right; it's a shame there aren't more of them. If you like Southern country music, this is for you.

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