"Let's be happy, gather 'round, 'cause it's time for you and me to sing a song as we jog along to the Chuck-Wagon Jamboree!" 

To western fans, he will always be best known as Festus Haggen, the grizzled and cantankerous sidekick of Sheriff Matt Dillon on the CBS television series "Gunsmoke." Complete with a three-day growth of beard and a dry-throated voice, Ken Curtis co-starred on the series for eleven years and became one of the best-loved comedic actors in television history.

But even die-hard fans of Dodge City may not realize that, in the years just after World War II, their favorite western deputy was, in fact, a singing cowboy -- the star of his own movie series at Columbia Pictures and a musical radio favorite to boot.

Joining Ken Curtis on this new series of shows, titled Chuck-Wagon Jamboree, was a batch of talented studio musicians called The Novelty Aces, who would support Curtis musically in his solo numbers, appear as laughing and joking hillbilly hicks between songs, and also be featured in their own musical numbers. Art West, a talented musician and composer in his own right, was hired as both announcer and performer, and two of the singers would change their voices and appear as "The Goon Holler Twins" for twangy duets. Musically, the tone was decidedly down-home, with selections ranging all the way from Stephen Foster favorites to barbershop ballads, from spirituals to fiddle break-downs, and from popular tunes to a daily close-harmony hymn that would close each program on a peaceful note. Curtis would generally be featured in two songs per program, often choosing his selections from the popular recordings of western performers like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Wills, and Al Dexter, and emphasizing the ballads that had made him a singing cowboy in the first place.

There's no question that "Chuck-Wagon Jamboree" did a lot for Ken Curtis' singing career; by 1949, he had not only returned to filmmaking - appearing in various westerns for independent studios and also for Republic Pictures - but had also been hired as the lead singer for the Sons of the Pioneers, a good fit musically, personally, and financially. He would continue singing lead with the group until 1953.

Heard today, "Chuck-Wagon Jamboree" still has much to offer. Reminiscent of "The Grand Old Opry" and, particularly, "The National Barn Dance," the series is a tuneful throwback to a simpler time when cowboys rode the range with their guitar by their side and everyone knew the old songs they had learned on their grandmother's knee. While listening to these shows, don't be surprised if you discover you actually remember all the words to an old hymn you used to sing as a child or find yourself humming along to a time-honored western favorite. Taken from an original set of 16" Teleways transcription recordings and fully restored for beautiful, high-fidelity sound.