Stuart Hamblen

In the opinion of many fans and historians of Western music, East Texas native Stuart Hamblen would qualify for induction into the Western Music Hall of Fame if for no other reason than as the composer of "Texas Plains". This is probably one of the most performed and recorded of Western songs. Hamblen composed many cowboy/Western songs in his life, and, although he is widely known for his Gospel compositions, it wasn't until around 1950 that he started writing Gospel music.

Stuart was one of the early members of the Beverly Hill Billies, the most popular group in Southern California in the early 1930s. Their music was a formative influence on the early sound of the Sons of the Pioneers. Stuart left the Beverly Hill Billies and formed his own Western group called the Lucky Stars. Stuart Hamblen and his Lucky Stars had one of the longest continuous runs (20 years) singing Western music on KFWB in Los Angeles. Much of their repertoire consisted of Hamblen's Western compositions. According to original members of the Sons of the Pioneers, Stuart Hamblen and his Lucky Stars were their closest competition in Western music at that time.

Stuart Hamblen was one of the first Western music recording artists signed to Decca Records---followed by the Sons of the Pioneers. He and his Covered Wagon Jubilee recorded "Texas Plains" for Decca in 1934. There were several Western singers and several country/Western singers who got their start with Stuart Hamblen. These include Ken Carson, Wesley Tuttle, and Cliffie Stone.

Along with performing and song writing, Stuart also appeared in some of the early Western films, appearing in two of Roy Rogers' movies, "Arizona Kid" and "King Of The Cowboys". Hamblen was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976.