Allen Shamblin is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter who was born in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and was brought up in

Huffman, Texas Huffman is an unincorporated community of northeastern Harris County, Texas within the Houston, Baytown metropolitan area. Location The Huffman community is centered on Farm to Market Roads 2100 and 1960, northeast of Downtown Houston in the ...

. After graduating from

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

he worked in Austin as a real estate appraiser. In 1987, he quit his job and moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

to pursue a career as a songwriter. He supported himself by parking cars and working in a warehouse. During live shows he tells stories about his parents sending him money so he could survive. In 1990,

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

took a song Shamblin wrote, about his great-grandfather, to number one on the country charts. After "He Walked on Water", he followed it up with four more number one songs including: "We Were in Love," "In This Life" and "Walk on Faith." He often co-writes with other songwriters. He co-wrote with Steve Seskin for number one hits with "Life is a Dance" and "Don't Laugh at Me."

Don't Laugh at Me "Don't Laugh at Me" is a song written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin, and recorded by American country music artist Mark Wills. It was released in July 1998 as the second single from album ''Wish You Were Here''. Like "I Do (Cherish You)" bef ...

was a hit for

Mark Wills Mark Wills (born Daryl Mark Williams; August 8, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – ''Mark Wills'', ''Wish You Were Here'', '' Permanently'' ...

and was later recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary resulting in a school program designed to teach children tolerance and prevent bullying in the playground. His biggest song, " I Can't Make You Love Me," was co-written with Mike Reid and was a hit for

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

. His song "The House that Built Me", co-written with Tom Douglas, was recorded by Miranda Lambert and she won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance Grammy for the recording. In 2009, Shamblin was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame on March 1, 2009, at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas. In 2011 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Songs

* "

" (

) * "

He Walked on Water "He Walked on Water" is a song written by Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in April 1990 as the third single from the album ''No Holdin' Back''. The song peaked at number 2 on the ''Billbo ...

" (

) * " Thinkin' Problem" ( David Ball) * " I Can't Make You Love Me" (

) * "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

" (

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

) * "

The House That Built Me "The House That Built Me" is a song written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. Blake Shelton was originally set to record the song, but when Lambert heard it, she emotionally reacted ...

" (

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

) * "

Where the Blacktop Ends "Where the Blacktop Ends" is a song written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Wariner and recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released in April 2001 as the fourth and final single from Urban's first American self-titled al ...

" (

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

) * " Life's a Dance" (

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo ca ...

) * " In This Life", "

Man of My Word "Man Of My Word" is a song written by Gary Burr and Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music singer Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, an ...

" (

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

) * "What I'm For" (

Pat Green Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA. Fifteen of his s ...

) * "

How They Remember You "How They Remember You" is a song written by Marc Beeson, Josh Osborne, and Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It is the lone single from their 2020 extended play of the same name. This was the last single ...

" (Rascal Flatts) * "Threads Of Gold" (

The Marcy Brothers The Marcy Brothers were an American country music trio formed in Oroville, California, in 1983 and disbanded in 1999. The trio consisted of three brothers: Kevin, Kris, and Kendal Marcy. They released two albums for divisions of Warner Music Group ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shamblin, Allen American country songwriters American male songwriters Living people Sam Houston State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)