Claude King

[Terry Miller]

Claude King has passed away at 90 years old.

[Steve Hinson]

Sorry to hear this...loved Claude's records!

[Daniel McKee]

Wolverton Mountain is a true classic country song.I have several of his records and really enjoy hearing his great songs.

[Russ Wever]

Wolverton Mountain as
played by Curly Chalker.
~> click
Through a Leslie,
nonetheless.
~Rw

[Ron Page]

Gone but not forgotten. May he RIP.

[Russ Little]

Country singer-songwriter Claude King, an original member of the Louisiana Hayride who was best known for the 1962 hit “Wolverton Mountain,” died Thursday, age 90.

King had just celebrated his birthday and 67th wedding anniversary to his wife, Barbara, last month. The couple’s eldest son, Duane King, said his father was found unresponsive in his bed early Thursday morning at his home in Shreveport.

King was an alumnus of the Louisiana Hayride, the Saturday night show where Elvis Presley got his start. The show transformed country and western music from 1948 to the 1980s with music genres including hillbilly, western swing, jazz, blues, gospel and rockabilly.

King, born Feb. 5, 1923, in Keithville, staged a revival about five years ago.

“Last year was great,” King told The Times in an 85th birthday story. “This time it will be even better. It’s getting to be fun again. I’m enjoying it.”

In his younger years, King served in the Navy, almost went into a career in professional baseball, and worked in construction and other fields.

Returning from World War II, he got involved in the bubbling country music scene in Shreveport, appearing on shows on KWKH Radio, then owned by The Shreveport Times, and was among performers on stage for the first incarnation of the Louisiana Hayride in April 1948.

King’s breaks came in the 1960s, when he signed with Columbia Records and released “Big River, Big Man,” which hit the country Top 10 and achieved modest pop success.

But his career song came in early 1962, when he wrote “Wolverton Mountain” with friend and fellow Shreveporter Merle Kilgore. The song was a country and pop hit, topping the charts more than two months and lingering on the Billboard sales and airplay charts half the year.

Other hits ranged through the 1960s: “The Burning of Atlanta,” “I’ve Got the World by the Tail,” “Sheepskin Valley,” “Building a Bridge,” “Hey Lucille!,” “Sam Hill,” “Tiger Woman,” “Little Buddy,” “Catch a Little Raindrop,” “Laura (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got?)” and “All for the Love of a Girl.”

[Larry W. Jones]

Tribute song for Claude King, Meryl Kilgore and Clifton Clowers:

Wolverton Mountain Man (Larry W Jones 03/20/2013) (song#6679)

Well, I was just a young lad going with the flow
When I first heard Claude King sing on the radio
I was at a soda fountain in Louisian
Listnin' 'bout a big bad Wolverton Mountain man

Now, old man Clowers made good hard liquor brandy
With a gun and a knife he was mighty handy
He had a pretty young daughter with raven hair
But Wolverton bears and birds protected her there

(instrumental)

Now I'm an older man and time goes marching on
And it was in March when I heard Claude King was gone
I wonder if he ever kissed Clifton's daughter's sweet lips
Or if he married that girl on one of his trips

I know Claude King climbed up on Wolverton Mountain
Cause all of his dreams were with that young girl he loved
He took his chances up on Wolverton Mountain
It was too lonesome down below than up above

Well, I was just a young lad going with the flow
When I first heard Claude King sing on the radio
Up on that Wolverton Mountain he loved her so

http://kingwoodkowboy.com/WolvertonMountainMan.html