"The thing about kids is that they just sing instead of trying to sound like they're singing," explains Chuck Prophet, who called in a choir of 25 kids for several songs on the new Soap and Water(Oct. 2/Yep Roc). "They don't need anything. Don't need a chart or their own headphone mixes. Maybe a slice of pizza and a few M&M's is all."

Recording in Nashville, TN, Prophet decided to add the Vine Street Kids, 25 Christian kids between the ages of 7 and 10 who sing in local church choir, to several songs on Soap and Water.

The choir imbues the song "Would You Love Me?" with a mock-grandeur spookily echoing that of "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

The hipster-boogie "A Woman's Voice" got off to a rocky start in the studio. Prophet recollects, "One little girl was listening to this song - we pumped it through big speakers into the studio - with a concerned look, she asked Miss Andra, the conductor, 'When is he going to start singing? He's just talking!' That's not talking kid, that's it!"

"But," he continues, "it started coming together. The kids barnacled on the melody in unison."

Chuck Prophet is a west coast icon whose guitar playing has graced albums by Warren Zevon, Lucinda Williams and Cake and whose songs have been covered by Kelly Willis, Heart and Solomon Burke. USA Today has proclaimed, "Chuck Prophet is a real find, an innovative genre-fusing talent with a wry sense of humor and fearless approach to musical alchemy."

Check out Chuck's full account of the experience on his blog link below.