Wolverton Mountain: Claude King’s Runaway Hit Song

54 years ago, in 1962, country singer Claude King’s hit song, “Wolverton Mountain,” began a 9-week run in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s country chart, also making the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. I originally published this article on another site that is no longer online on Claude King’s 87th birthday (2/5/2010). Several months later, I was particularly delighted when I got an email from Mr. King telling me he had enjoyed reading the article.

This performance of Wolverton took place in Feb. 2007, when Claude King was honored by his hometown, Shreveport, Louisiana with a star in the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Stars. Mr. King passed away in his hometown on March 7, 2013 at the age of 90. Now, the original article:

Country singer and songwriter, Merle Kilgore originally wrote the song about his uncle, Clifton Clowers, who really did live on Woolverton Mountain in Arkansas. (That’s not a typo – the real mountain has two o’s). Clifton Clowers lived on Woolverton Mountain until 1994, when he died at the ripe old age of 102. Clowers served in World War I and served as a deacon at the Mountain View Baptist Church for several years. Merle Kilgore also co-wrote “Ring of Fire” with Johnny Cash’s wife, June Carter. Both Claude King and Merle helped Clifton Clowers celebrate his 100th Birthday.

Merle pitched the song to a lot of folks but couldn’t get it recorded. When he hooked up with Claude King, Claude made some changes to the song (resulting in the co-writer credit). Both Johnny Horton and George Jones rejected the offer to record it, so Claude decided to record it himself. The song has an up-beat, fun arrangement and is about a pretty girl who lives on Wolverton Mountain with her overprotective father, Clifton Clowers, who is “mighty handy with a gun and a knife.” The song went all the way to No. 1 on the country charts and crossed over to the pop charts where it reached No. 6.

I remember this song well as a child. Clifton Clowers had a bunch of bears and birds to warn him if anyone tried to get up on his mountain. But none of this was going to deter Claude from climbing up Wolverton Mountain because Clifton Clower’s daughter’s tender lips were “sweeter than honey.” The song even spawned an answer song recorded by Jo Ann Campbell called “I’m the Girl from Wolverton Mountain.” Claude King’s southern accent always sounded totally natural to me, but I’m not too sure about Jo Ann. She really goes overboard with it! Other singers who covered the song include Nat King Cole, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Brothers Four and Southern Culture on the Skids. Connie Francis and Hank Williams, Jr. made a duet out of it. Even Bing Crosby crooned it on his country music hits album. None of them can match the original, not even Dickey Lee’s version (and heaven knows Dickey has one of my all-time favorite country voices).

Claude King and Merle Kilgore were both raised in the Shreveport, LA. area, and worked at the Louisiana Hayride. Both of them knew and worked at various times with Hank Williams, Elvis, Kitty Wells, her husband, Johnnie Wright (Johnnie and Jack), Webb Pierce, Johnny Horton and many other country stars who got their start at the Hayride. One of Claude’s songs was an early hit for Johnnie and Jack. Johnny Horton and Claude King were close friends who often went hunting and fishing together and were supposed to go duck hunting on the day that Johnny Horton died in an automobile accident. Claude recorded a tribute album to Johnny Horton in 1969. The track, “All For the Love of A Girl,” was released as a single and made it to the top ten in country charts.

Although none of Claude’s other recordings ever matched the runaway success of “Wolverton Mountain,” he was a regular fixture in country music up until the early 1980s when he retired from the music business.