Have you ever heard of Stuart Hamblen? I wouldn’t have recognized the name until a couple of days ago when our Sunday School teacher played a video in which Jimmy Dean interviewed him. That’s when I discovered he wrote several of my favorite songs from my youth.
My grandmother used to play the piano and sing—although you had to love her to sit in the same room with her singing. She would sing songs like “Oh Susanna” and “Mockingbird Hill” and others that date back to the 1950’s or earlier.
One of the songs she liked was “Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In,” which was recorded by Rosemary Clooney in 1954. It talks about how Satan runs from the sunshine.
One that I remember her playing all the time was “It Is No Secret.” First recorded by Russ Hamblen in 1952, this song has been recorded by several dozen different singers and groups ranging from Ernest Tubb to Elvis Presley to the Blackwood Brothers.
As I said, I wasn’t aware of Stuart Hamblen’s name, but I loved these latter two songs when I was growing up. He could preach a beautiful sermon in the simple words of his songs.
One of the early television shows my sister and I watched faithfully in the 1950’s was “Your Hit Parade.” Each week the cast of Dorothy Collins, Gisele MacKenzie, Snooky Lanson, and Russell Arms would sing the top ten hits of the week, starting with number ten and moving upward.
There were a lot of great songs in that era, but one in particular I always loved to hear was “This Old House.” Russell Arms would always sing the line, “Well I ain’t a-gonna need this house no longer, ain’t a-gonna need this house no more,” in his deepest bass voice, and I always loved hearing that.
Stuart Hamblen did a great job of getting God’s name into the popular music of the day. I don’t know why it took me so long to become aware of him. Here’s an interview Jimmy Dean did with him in 1963.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6e_MPVG0tU
What popular song from your youth talked about God?
What songs from back in your youth do your remember fondly but can’t remember who wrote them?
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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
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David N Walker 
That is very attention-grabbing, You’re an overly professional blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to in the hunt for more of your
excellent post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks
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Thank you so much for the kind words and for following my blog.
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Hi! I found your blog through a search engine, Google, pertaining to a personal inquiry into my father’s ancestry. I did not know that my father was related to Stuart Hamblen. His father, Sherman, was a fiddle player in San Angelou, Texas. I have learned so much about his family’s genealogy. There is a book written about our family in particular by A. Porter Hamblen. Fiddle enthusiasts are mesmerized by this book. I find it delightful that you write about these songs because my father passed a year ago and to have “HAMBLEN” appear on the screen provides a rare permanence to my family. Thanks! 🙂
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Glad I could bring you some pleasant memories, Jessica.
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What a fun blog, David. The memories of Your Hit Parade are fun. My favorite was Dorothy Collins. Sharon, I also love “I Believe.”
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Thanks, Barb. I loved – and still love – “I Believe.”
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I remember the beautiful song “I Believe.” Can’t remember who popularized it or wrote it.
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Thanks, Sharon. I think Frankie Laine was the first to popularize “I Believe.”
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