"Wolverton Mountain" is a country music song and 1962 crossover hit that established Claude King's career as an American country singer-songwriter. The song was a rewrite of the original version by Merle Kilgore, which was based on a real person named Clifton Clowers (Kilgore's uncle).[1] Clowers lived on Woolverton Mountain (the spelling was changed for the song),[2][failed verification] located 4 miles north of Center Ridge, Arkansas, 50 miles (80 km) north of Little Rock. The song spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart in the United States in June and July 1962.[3] A crossover hit, "Wolverton Mountain" reached number six on the Billboard 100 pop chart[4] and number three on the easy listening chart. In Canada it was number 1 for 3 weeks, and in the top 10 for 7 weeks.[5]
| "Wolverton Mountain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Claude King | ||||
| from the album Meet Claude King | ||||
| B-side | "Little Bitty Heart" | |||
| Released | March 1962 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Merle Kilgore Claude King | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Law Frank Jones | |||
| Claude King singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Premise
editThe song's storyline deals with the narrator's desire for Clowers' daughter and his intention to climb the titular mountain and marry her. It opens with the recounting of a legendary warning to the listener not to "go on Wolverton Mountain," as its inhabitant Clifton Clowers, who is "handy with a gun and a knife," poses a lethal threat to anyone who tries to approach his beautiful daughter, whose "tender lips are sweeter than honey." If a stranger attempts to enter, Clowers is alerted by "the bears and the birds." The narrator has decided to defy Clowers and climb the mountain despite the acknowledged danger. What will eventually happen to him is not revealed in the lyric, but the positive tone suggests optimism.
Clifton Clowers
editClifton T. Clowers was born on October 30, 1891, at Center Ridge, Arkansas, son of Thomas Jefferson Clowers and Mary Prince Clowers. In July 1919, he married Esther Bell. He was a veteran of World War I and a deacon in the Mountain View Baptist Church. He was immortalized by the success of "Wolverton Mountain".[6][7] He lived most of his life on a small farm located on the northern edge of Woolverton Mountain. According to one of his grandchildren, Clowers wished that Kilgore had not suggested in the song that he threatened his daughter's suitors with a gun and a knife, saying, "I never used those tools for that purpose, I just used them to hunt and whittle.”[8]
On his 100th birthday Clowers was visited by both writers of the song, King and Kilgore.[9][10][11] Clowers died at the age of 102 on August 15, 1994, at his home in Clinton, Arkansas, and was buried at the Woolverton Mountain Cemetery.
Covers, later recordings and answer versions
editCountry singer Dickey Lee, who was still emerging on the music scene at the time, covered the song just months after it was released.
An answer song, "(I'm the Girl from) Wolverton Mountain", was recorded by Jo Ann Campbell, released in August 1962 ("Yes, I'm the girl from Wolverton Mountain / I wish someone would make me their wife"), and hit the Billboard charts (#38 pop, #24 country, #10 AC). The song also achieved popularity in Australia in a version by Dorothy Baker.[12]
Nat King Cole covered the song for his 1962 album Ramblin' Rose.
Bing Crosby recorded the song for his 1965 album Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits. Jerry Lee Lewis also recorded a version of the song that year.
In 1962, Australian country and western singer Kevin Shegog recorded the song and it was a popular hit in Australia.
In 1966, Olle Adolphson scored a Swedish language-version hit, with lyrics by himself as "Skattlösa bergen", at Svensktoppen.[13] In 1988, Lasse Stefanz recorded the song with these lyrics.[14]
In 1975, Roman Stewart recorded a reggae version. Dubbed by King Tubby in 'Wolverton Mountain version' by Treasure Isle All Stars. In 1994, Josey Wales made a dancehall version 'Cowboy Style'.
The song was also parodied by Marty Cooper (as "El Clod") in a version called "Tijuana Border (Wolverton Mountain)". It reached #111 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart in the fall of 1962.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, then recording under the name the Dirt Band, released a version of the song on their 1979 album An American Dream.[15] In 1985, inspired by the Dirt Band's rendition of the song, a cable television program in Summit County, Colorado featured restaurateur Jim Rianoshek portraying a character named Clifton Clowers, who promoted a fictional ski area called Wolverton Mountain, "where the snow is so deep that it is the home of periscope skiing, and the cost of a lift ticket depends on your line of credit."[16]
Hank Williams Jr. mentioned Clifton Clowers in a track titled "If the South Woulda Won" on his album Wild Streak (1988).
Great Plains recorded the song in 1997. Writer Merle Kilgore praised Great Plains' version, saying that it was the first time since King's original that the "magic" had been recaptured.[17]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (CHUM Chart)[18] | 1 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[19] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[20] | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[21] | 3 |
References
edit- ^ Dauphin, Chuck (March 7, 2013). "'Wolverton Mountain' Singer Claude King Dies". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ "Hiking Trails, Mountain Bike Trails & Trail Maps | Trails.com". Archived from the original on 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 190.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 346.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - May 21, 1962".
- ^ Obituary, Van Buren County Democrat
- ^ Formosa Community News section of the Morrilton Democrat
- ^ Green, Buck (November 4, 2001). "Clifton Clowers". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ "images/story/1/11211g". hillbilly-music.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ^ That same year, a man named Mike Redmond sang the song for Clowers on the latter's front porch in a performance that can be found on YouTube: "Mike sings Wolverton Mountain for Clifton Clowers Part 1". YouTube. 3 March 2008.
- ^ "Her tender lips". The Miami Herald. 13 September 1991. p. 2.
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Svensktoppen - 1966
- ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
- ^ Erlewine, Michael; et al., eds. (1997). All Music Guide to Country. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 337. ISBN 9780879304751. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Wolverton: Peak of Fantasy". Ski. April 1985. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1997-01-18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - May 21, 1962".
- ^ "Claude King Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Claude King Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 136.