Their music is based on the singing, songwriting, and guitar playing of Bill Lake, and the vocals of Rick Bryant.
Though numerous musicians passed through the ranks of the early Strugglers, the group has existed in more or less its current form since Delahunty and Bollinger joined in the mid-1970s.
While Bryant and Lake also played in rock groups such as Mammal, the Pelicans, and the Jive Bombers, the Strugglers always existed as an entity in its own right, performing whenever busy schedules make it possible.
In 1994 the Strugglers released their own self-titled CD, which won Best Folk Album in the New Zealand Music Awards.
While the Strugglers' blues and jug-band influences have been documented on their previous albums, the 2001 Snow on the Desert Road consisted entirely of original songs by singers Bryant and Lake (in collaboration with songwriting partner Arthur Baysting).