Stuart Hamblen - wikipedia Stuart Hamblen Stuart Hamblen Background information Birth name Carl Stuart Hamblen October 20, 1908 Kellyville, Texas, United States March 8, 1989 ( 1989 - 03 - 08 ) ( aged 80 ) Santa Monica, California Genres Country music Cowboy music Gospel music Occupation ( s ) Singer - songwriter Years active 1926 -- 1989 Labels Decca Records RCA Records Four Star Records Stuart Hamblen ( born Carl Stuart Hamblen ; October 20, 1908 -- March 8, 1989 ) became one of American radio 's first singing cowboys in 1926, going on to become a singer, actor, radio show host, and songwriter, later undergoing a Christian conversion and becoming a Temperance movement supporter and recurring candidate for political office. He is best known as the composer of the song This Ole House ( 1954 ). Contents 1 Biography 2 Music 2.1 Hit Singles 3 Awards 4 Politics 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Biography Hamblen was born to the family of an itinerant Methodist preacher on October 20, 1908, in Kellyville, Texas. He married Suzy Daniels and fathered two children with her. Hamblen 's father was Dr. J.H. Hamblen, a minister in the Methodist Church in Texas, who in 1946 founded the Evangelical Methodist Church denomination in Abilene, Texas. From 1931 Hamblen began hosting the popular radio program Family Album in California, composing music and acting in motion pictures with cowboy stars including Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. In 1934 he became the first artist signed by the American subsidiary of Decca Records. Hamblen did n't cope well with the pressures of his high - profile career and sought relief in alcohol. Many times his drinking landed him in jail for public brawling and other destructive behavior. The Texas State Historical Association reports that Hamblen identified himself as the `` original juvenile delinquent. '' Because Hamblen was hugely popular, his radio sponsors regularly bailed him out of jail and smoothed things over. For a while, he ventured into horse - racing as an owner. Inevitably, Hamblen 's drinking and gambling problems severely affected his life and career. In 1949 after years of struggle with alcohol, Hamblen underwent a religious conversion at a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles, and was soon fired from his radio program after refusing to do beer commercials. He subsequently gave up gambling and horse racing, and entered Christian broadcasting with his radio show The Cowboy Church of the Air, which ran until 1952. During a 1963 crusade in Los Angeles, Graham called Hamblen 's conversion `` the turning point '' in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association 's ministry, where before Hamblen accepted Christ the crowds were rather small. Graham said Hamblen was the No. 1 radio personality in Los Angeles, which drew in crowds. That evening, also Graham 's first coast - to - coast television broadcast, Hamblen shared about his faith and sang / spoke his signature hymn `` It Is No Secret ( What God Can Do ) ''. Graham attributed Hamblen 's hunting skills as instrumental in capturing a wild panther in the Los Angeles area prior to the crusade. Hamblen carried a picture of a mountain lion -- might have been the wild panther -- in his wallet. The cat was in his refrigerator in the garage. Stuart Hamblen died March 8, 1989, in Santa Monica, California of brain cancer. Music In his early career as a singing cowboy he composed his song Texas Plains. It was this song that Patsy Montana reworked into her million seller hit I Want to Be a Cowboy 's Sweetheart ( 1935 ). Hamblen wrote the popular songs `` This Ole House '' ( 1954 ) ( popularized by Rosemary Clooney, among others ) and `` Open Up Your Heart ( And Let the Sunshine In ) '' ( not to be confused with the song from the Broadway musical Hair ). Other songs include `` Hell Train '', `` It Is No Secret ( What God Can Do ) '' ( not the contemporary Christian song of a similar name in the 1980s ) and `` Blood on Your Hands ''. Some of his post-conversion songs depict a rather wrathful version of the Gospel, sung with such good - natured high spirits that they have an ironic appeal to the non-religious. `` It Is No Secret '' was written following his acceptance of Christ and a spiritual conversation with John Wayne. After accepting the Lord, Hamblen was fired from his position as disc jockey because he refused to do alcohol commercials. John Wayne offered him a drink shortly thereafter, Hamblen refused saying `` It is no secret what the Lord can do. '' John Wayne said, `` You should write a song by that title. '' The song would go on to be sung by popular singers Rosemary Clooney, Kate Smith, Jim Reeves, Wayne Newton, Leslie Uggams, Jo Stafford & Gordon MacRae ( duet ), Anne Murray, Tom Netherton, Eddy Arnold, Pat Boone, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb. `` This Ole House '' was inspired while on a hunting trip in the High Sierras with a friend. The two men came upon what looked like an abandoned shack, wherein they found the body of an elderly man, apparently dead of natural causes. Hamblen came up with the lyrics to the song while riding horseback down the mountain, and composed the melody within a week. In addition to being a number one hit for Clooney, it was later recorded by Roberta Sherwood, The Statler Brothers. In 1981, a version performed by Welsh rock'n'roll singer Shakin ' Stevens topped the British charts. In 1955, Hamblen had a hit single with `` Open Up Your Heart ( And Let the Sunshine In ), '' along with his family under the name `` Cowboy Church Sunday School. '' Hamblen was accompanied by wife Suzy, daughters Veeva Suzanne and Obee Jane ( Lisa ), and two of the girls ' friends. The song was recorded at the 33 RPM speed so that it sounds like children singing at the normal 7 - inch single phonograph speed of 45 RPM. The tune hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts in 1955. `` Open Up Your Heart ( And Let the Sunshine In ) '' was sung on an episode of the television cartoon series The Flintstones in the mid-1960s by characters Pebbles and Bamm - Bamm. Hamblen wrote the lyrics to the Christmas cult favorite, `` Hardrock, Coco and Joe ''. An animated Christmas cartoon based on the song was created in the mid-1950s. Its running time is about 2 minutes and 45 seconds. The full title is Hardrock, Coco and Joe - The Three Little Dwarfs, but is commonly called Hardrock, Coco and Joe, after the song title. One of Hamblen 's few secular songs to become popular was `` ( Remember Me ) I 'm the One Who Loves You, '' recorded by Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Dean, Red Foley, and others, and made into a gold record by Dean Martin in a 1965 Reprise recording. The Hamblen family participated in the Pasadena Rose Parade for many years riding Peruvian Paso horses. At Mr. Hamblen 's well - attended funeral in Los Angeles, a recording of Mr. Hamblen 's was played ; Billy Graham gave the eulogy. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Hit Singles Year Single Chart Positions US Country US 1950 `` ( Remember Me ) I 'm the One Who Loves You '' `` I Wo n't Go Huntin ' Jake ( But I 'll Go Chasin ' Women ) '' 1951 `` It Is No Secret '' 8 1954 `` This Ole House '' 1955 `` Open Up Your Heart ( And Let the Sunshine In ) '' 8 Awards Hamblen was inducted into the Nashville 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. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Western Music Hall of Fame in 1999. 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. Politics Hamblen Presidential campaign button, 1952 Hamblen supported the American temperance movement and ran as the Prohibition Party 's candidate for U.S. president in the 1952 presidential election. Hamblen garnered 72,949 recorded popular votes and no electoral votes in an election in which Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President for the first of two terms, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Previously, Hamblen ran for California 's 20th congressional district seat as a Democrat, losing to Carl Hinshaw in the 1938 election cycle. The race was a close one, with Hinshaw at 47 percent and Hamblen with 41 percent of the vote. See also Prohibition Party presidential election results References ^ Jump up to : Internet Movie Database entry for Stuart Hamblen http://www.imdb.com Jump up ^ Handbook of Texas Online : `` Carl Stuart Hamblen Jump up ^ Time, Sept. 1, 1952 Jump up ^ Hamblen, J.H. : `` A Look Into Life, '' an Evangelical Methodist Church publication ( c. 1970 ) Jump up ^ Personal recording, Billy Graham Crusade, Los Angeles : 1963 ( exact date unknown ) Jump up ^ `` a visit with Stuart Hamblen Part 1 - 10 / 10 / 1963 - Jimmy Dean ''. YouTube. 2008 - 09 - 10. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ Creating a gospel classic, Songwriter Stuart Hamblem Jump up ^ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000 Jump up ^ Stuart Hamblen ( 1908 - 1989 ) Jump up ^ Prohibitionist Party biography of Stuart Hamblen External links Black Cat Rockabilly - Stuart Hamblen Stuart Hamblen on IMDb `` It 's a Free Country ''. Time. 1952 - 09 - 01. Retrieved 2006 - 10 - 03. Life magazine archived photo of Hamblen at November 1949 Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles Snopes.com article clarifying urban legend about Hamblen 's conversion. Prohibitionist Party history, mentioning Hamblen 's candidacy Prohibition Party Presidential tickets 1872 : Black / Russell 1876 : Smith / Stewart 1880 : Dow / Thompson 1884 : St. John / Daniel 1888 : Fisk / Brooks 1892 : Bidwell / Cranfill 1896 : Levering / Johnson - Bentley / Southgate 1900 : Wolley / Metcalf 1904 : Swallow / Carroll 1908 / 1912 : Chafin / A. Watkins 1916 : Hanley / Landrith 1920 : A. Watkins / Colvin 1924 : Faris / Brehm 1928 : Varney / Edgerton 1932 : Upshaw / Regan 1936 : Colvin / Watson 1940 : Babson / Moorman 1944 : Watson / Johnson 1948 : Watson / Learn 1952 : Hamblen / Holtwick 1956 : Holtwick / Cooper 1960 : Decker / Munn 1964 : Munn / Shaw 1968 : Munn / Fisher 1972 : Munn / Uncapher 1976 / 1980 : Bubar / Dodge 1984 : Dodge / Martin 1988 / 1992 : Dodge / Ormsby 1996 : Dodge / Bubar Kelly 2000 : Dodge / D. Watkins 2004 : Amondson / Pletten - Dodge - Lydick 2008 : Amondson / Pletten 2012 : Fellure / Davis 2016 : Hedges / Bayes Related topics Prohibition in the United States - Anti-Saloon League - Woman 's Christian Temperance Union ( 1948 ← ) United States presidential election, 1952 ( → 1956 ) Republican Party Convention Primaries Nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower VP nominee Richard Nixon Candidates Riley A. Bender George Theodore Mickelson Harold Stassen Robert Taft Earl Warren Democratic Party Convention Primaries Nominee Adlai Stevenson VP nominee John Sparkman Candidates Alben W. Barkley Paul A. Dever W. Averell Harriman Hubert Humphrey Estes Kefauver Robert S. Kerr Richard Russell Jr. Third party and independent candidates Prohibition Party Nominee Stuart Hamblen VP nominee Enoch A. Holtwick Progressive Party Nominee Vincent Hallinan VP nominee Charlotta Bass Socialist Labor Party Nominee Eric Hass Socialist Party Nominee Darlington Hoopes VP nominee Samuel H. Friedman Socialist Workers Party Nominee Farrell Dobbs VP nominee Myra Tanner Weiss Independents and other candidates Edward Longstreet Bodin Henry B. Krajewski Other 1952 elections : House Senate VIAF : 59269719 LCCN : n93029097 ISNI : 0000 0000 8386 3135 GND : 142070106 BNF : cb13894920w ( data ) MusicBrainz : 696e7bed - 989a - 4111 - bc10 - 7f960561024b BNE : XX879245 IATH : w6p26w33 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stuart_Hamblen&oldid=796197685 '' Categories : 1908 births 1989 deaths People from Marion County, Texas American Christians American country singer - songwriters American country singers California Democrats California Prohibitionists Decca Records artists Four Star Records artists Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees Prohibition Party ( United States ) presidential nominees RCA Victor artists United States presidential candidates, 1952 20th - century American politicians Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park ( Hollywood Hills ) American temperance activists 20th - century American singers Songwriters from Texas Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Polski Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 19 August 2017, at 05 : 12. 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Question: who wrote it is no secret what god can do
Answer: Hamblen