Thursday, October 20, 2022

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 20th of October 2022. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

In my neck of the woods, if you ask who the singing cowboy is, the answer would likely be Gene Autry- known by older generations as a television star and to mine as the founder and first owner of the Los Angeles Angels.

But according to the Academy of Country and Western Music, the first man to hold that title was Stuart Hamblen- a remarkable figure in American popular culture whose conversion to Christianity and friendship with John Wayne would lead to a chart-topping hit.

So, here’s the story. Stuart Hamblen was born on the 20th of October in 1908 in Texas. His father was an itinerant Methodist preacher and would become the founder of the Evangelical Methodist Church, but Stuart did not take to his father's religion.

Instead, he took to his guitar. By 1926 he was broadcasting and singing from Fort Worth. Winning a talent show in 1929, he would then make his way to Los Angeles, becoming “Cowboy Joe” on KFI AM 640. He would also become a member of the band- The Beverly Hill Billies (this long before the tv show). Starting in 1931, Stuart struck out on his own with a radio program called “King Cowboy and His Wooly West Review.”

He would play cowboys in films and became a friend and stunt double for John Wayne. He was an avid fan of horse racing and became a trainer. His gambling and drinking, however, did not sit well with his wife. She had started attending Hollywood Presbyterian Church and the Bible studies of Henrietta Mears (we did a weekend edition on her a few months ago).

In 1949 Stuart agreed to attend one of Mears's gatherings known as the Hollywood Christian Group- a group that gave relative anonymity to celebrities interested in Christianity. On one particular evening, Henrietta invited a young Billy Graham, who was preparing for his first evangelistic rally. Stuart’s wife had them get to Mears’ house early, leaving Billy and Stuart alone to talk. Billy ended up doing Stuart’s radio program to plug the event. Stuart, a much bigger name than the unknown Graham, agreed to attend. He attended every night of the rally and then, one morning at 4 am, showed up drunk where Graham was staying and asked how he might be saved.

The following year he was on set with John Wayne, newly converted, and Wayne asked Stuart how and why he became a Christian and reformed his ways. Stuart responded, “It’s no secret what God can do.” Wayne responded that Stuart should write a song with that title. He would write it, and it became the first song to cross over the spiritual and secular charts- making the top 10 of each. The song has been covered by Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, and George Jones.

Stuart became a stalwart member of the Hollywood Christian Group and is still a radio star. But the station was not especially pleased when he refused to do ads for cigarettes and alcohol; in 1952, he was pulled from the air.

The same year his radio show ended, he was approached by the Prohibition Party to be the Presidential candidate in that year's election. He would run and come in a distant fourth to Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.

In 1971 he and his family returned to the airwaves with an explicitly Christian program- the “Cowboy Church of the Air” he would continue to train horses (he just quit betting on them) and was elected into numerous Halls of Fame. He would die in 1989. Born on the 20th of October in 1908, Stuart Hamblen was 80 years old.

The Last Word for today comes from the lectionary for today from Psalm 65:

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
You who answer prayer,
 to you all people will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
 you forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those you choose
 and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,
 of your holy temple.
You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
 God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth
 and of the farthest seas,

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 20th of October 2022, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who ironically also performs as King Cowboy and His Wooly West Review; it’s a heck of a show. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who regularly flies out of an airport inexplicably named for John Wayne; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.