Stuart Hamblen... Carl Stuart Hamblen (October 20, 1908 - March 8, 1989), often called Stuart Hamblen, became one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, and was a recurring candidate for political office. Stuart Hamblen was born to the family of an itinerant Methodist preacher on 20 October 1908, in Kelleyville, Texas. He was married to Suzy Daniels and fathered two children with her. Hamblen's father was Dr. J. H. Hamblen, a bishop in the Methodist Church in Texas, who in 1946 founded the Evangelical Methodist Church in Abilene, Texas. Between 1931 and 1952, Hamblen had a series of highly popular radio programs on the west coast of the United States. He composed music and acted in motion pictures with such other stars as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and John Wayne. In 1949, he underwent a religious conversion at a Billy Graham revival in Los Angeles. He soon gave up his secular radio and film career to enter Christian broadcasting with his radio show, "The Cowboy church of the Air," which ran from 1938-52. Stuart Hamblen died 8 March, 1989, in Santa Monica, California, of brain cancer. Hamblen wrote the popular songs, This Ole House and Open up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine in). Other songs include Hell Train, It is No Secret (What God Can Do) and Blood on Your Hands". "It Is No Secret" was likely to have been inspired by a Billy Graham prayer meeting, in which Hamblen became a born-again Christian, and a conversation with John Wayne. The song would go on to be sung by popular singers Eddy Arnold, Pat Boone, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb. "This Ole House" was reportedly inspired while on a hunting trip with a friend. The two men came upon what looked like an abandoned shack, wherein was the body of an elderly man, apparently dead of natural causes. Hamblen wrote the lyrics to the song on the spot, on the back of his lunch bag, and composed the melody within a week. In 1955, Hamblen had a hit single along with his family under the name "Cowboy Church Sunday School." With wife Suzy, daughters Veeva Suzanne and Obee Jane (Lisa), and two of the girls' friends, they recorded the song "Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)", and released it as a single. The song was recorded at the 33rpm speed so that it sounds like children singing at the normal 7" single phonograph speed of 45rpm. The tune hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts in 1955. "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine in" was performed on an episode of the television cartoon series The Flintstones and sung by characters Pebbles and Bamm Bamm in the mid-1960s. Hamblen was inducted into the Country/Western Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, was presented the ACM Pioneer Award 1972, received the Gene Autry Golden Boot Award 1988, and was inducted into Texas Country Music Hall of Fame 2001. He later received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Jefferson, Texas (near Hamblen's birth home of Kelleyville, Texas) celebrates "Stuart Hamblen Days" each year, with a bronze plaque dedication taking place in the city park in 1998, sponsored by a local opera house. -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- You can learn more about Stuart Hamblen by visiting Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia website. Just click here > Stuart Hamblen

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