Stuart Hamblen
| Stuart Hamblen | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carl Stuart Hamblen |
| Born | October 20, 1908 Kellyville, Texas, United States |
| Died | March 8, 1989 (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 (October 20, 1908 – March 8, 1989), born Carl Stuart Hamblen, 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).
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 didn'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.
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