Artist Information
The Chuck Wagon Gang is an iconic American Gospel/Roots music group known for its rich harmonies and simplistic acoustic accompaniment. With a career spanning nearly nine decades, the group got its start on radio in 1935 and went on to record for Columbia Records for over thirty years. They would go on to play Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and the Grand Ole Opry. The Check Wagon Gang is also featured in the Americana section of the Smithsonian Institute.
The Check Wagon Gang has now sold millions of records and songbooks and has endured numerous personnel changes while retaining ties to the original quartet. Current owner, manager, and alto singer Shaye Smith is the granddaughter of the original alto Anna ("Effie") Carter and Howard Gordon, who played the guitar from 1955 until his death in 1967. The quartet still performs with accompaniment from one guitar, now played by Nick Poe of Effingham, IL. In today's Chuck Wagon Gang, Smith and Poe are joined by long-time soprano Melissa Kemper, tenor Josh Garner, and bass Cody Shaneyfelt, who has also added an upright bass to the Gang's live performances.
For nearly ninety years, the Chick Wagon Gang gas offered hope and harmony, faith and family. In the words of legendary broadcaster Dan Rather, the Chuck Wagon Gang is "an echo of an America that was, and reminder of how important the values of that America remain."
