Somebody could say this cowboy’s life was not a secret, both before and after he allowed God to work on him. Carl ‘Stuart’ Hamblen was a brazen sinner, if ever there was one – party animal might accurately describe this fellow, who fit right in with the Hollywood crowd, that exclusive Los Angeles club of ‘stars’. In Stuart’s case, he must have thought “It Is No Secret” that his life was in fact an exposé. And, with that thought, he attended an event at which a well-known preacher was speaking, perhaps because he wanted something to change. And, when he decided to do a 180-degree turnaround, a switch that got the attention of the ‘star’ crowd, Stuart did not shy away from his new ‘secret’. He embraced it, and what he wrote suggests he thought others might too, if he did what came naturally to his musician’s sense.
It was 1949, and Stuart Hamblen might have been living the dream life of an actor, singer-songwriter, and radio host in the Mecca of the American entertainment scene. But, he was also in mid-life – so, was he in a crisis that he didn’t even know was upon him, until an encounter with a young preacher – Billy Graham – changed him forever? Drinking, gambling, and generally being what some might have called a ‘hell-raiser’ was the Stuart Hamblen that his associates knew. Stuart’s wife, according to some accounts of events, coaxed her husband to attend one night of Graham’s crusade that was ongoing in L.A. Other accounts indicate the two men were also on Stuart’s radio show, or that they’d met at the home of a Hollywood bible teacher. Perhaps it was a combination of many things, but the result was Hamblen surrendered his life to Christ, something he wasn’t reluctant to admit publicly, including on his radio broadcast. Even John Wayne’s attention was captured apparently, and perhaps this famous movie star did as much as anyone to spark Stuart’s musical response to his life change. Wayne reportedly suggested that Stuart’s own admission to him – that his conversion was no secret, and that God was capable of doing anything in someone’s life – was a song waiting to be written. So, later that night, just about midnight when his living room clock began to sound the hour – the ‘chimes of time ring out the news’ (v.1) – Stuart’s inspiration was making its way onto a musical score sheet. According to one version, the song was done 17 minutes later, to Hamblen’s astonishment. The Billy Graham crusades to preach across America also got a shot in the arm, consequently, as news of the conversion of the former ‘hell-raiser’ and its apparent authenticity spread. Stuart’s own words indicated that he felt he’d been pardoned (chorus).
Was there a latent desire within Stuart Hamblen to know God before he met Billy Graham? Hamblen’s upbringing had been in the family with a father who was a Methodist preacher in Texas, so perhaps the seed was already planted that finally sprouted in Stuart’s early 40s. And, it was not a temporary episode for this radio personality-actor-singer. For example, he subsequently spurned beer commercials on his shows, even to the point of becoming a candidate for U.S. president for the Prohibition Party in 1952. Though he never became president, Stuart continued writing songs, eventually becoming a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1994, along with many other awards as his life progressed. Perhaps looking back, one might say Stuart’s Christianity was lying just below the surface, though well-hidden in 1949. It just needed someone to light a match to make it burn. Is there an ember in your life that could jump into flame, with just a bit of fuel?
See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
Also see this link, showing all three verses:
Also see this link for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/a/m/b/hamblen_cs.htm
Also see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Hamblen
Also see the story here: https://www.staugustine.com/living/religion/2016-07-29/story-behind-song-it-no-secret
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