"Wolverton Mountain" was a hit that launched Claude King

Claude King

Claude King is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain".-Biography:...

's career in the US in 1962. The song was written together with Merle Kilgore

Merle Kilgore

Wyatt Merle Kilgore was an American singer, songwriter, and manager.-Early life:Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Merle Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the son of Wyatt and Gladys B. Kilgore...

 and was based on a real character, Clifton Clowers, who lived on Wolverton Mountain in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. The song spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 in the US in 1962. It was also a giant crossover hit, reaching number six on the pop chart and number three on the easy listening chart.

Clifton Clowers

Clifton T. Clowers was born on 30 October 1891, at Center Ridge, Arkansas

Center Ridge, Arkansas

Center Ridge is an unincorporated census-designated place in Conway County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 388. Clifton Clowers lived in Center Ridge. He was the subject of the hit song Wolverton Mountain, written by Merle Kilgore and Claude King, and released in...

, son of Jefferson Davis and Mary Prince Clowers. In July 1919 he married Esther Bell. He was a veteran of World War I and a Deacon in Mountain View Baptist Church. He became immortalized in the 1960s when his nephew, Merle Kilgore Clowers, wrote Wolverton Mountain. He lived most of his life on a farm located on the northern edge of the mountain, the mountain's name being spelt Woolverton.

On his 100th birthday, Clowers was visited by the writers of the song, Claude King and Merle Kilgore.

Clowers died aged 102 on Monday, 15 August 1994 at his home in Clinton, Arkansas

Clinton, Arkansas

Clinton is the county seat of Van Buren County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,283 at the 2000 census. The city was named for DeWitt Clinton, the New York governor who built the Erie Canal; he previously was also a U.S. Senator from New York. Clinton is located at...

, and was buried at the Woolverton Mountain Cemetery.

Cover and answer versions

Country singer Dickey Lee

Dickey Lee

Royden Dickey Lipscomb , known professionally as Dickey Lee , is an American pop/country singer and songwriter, best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs "Patches" and "Laurie ."-Career:Lee made his first recordings in his hometown of Memphis for Tampa...

, who was still emerging on the music scene at the time, covered the song just months after it was released.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

 recorded it in 1965. Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole

Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...

 also included it on his 1960s country album.

In 1965, Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....

 recorded the song for his album Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits.

An answer song

Answer song

An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...

, "I'm the Girl from Wolverton Mountain", was recorded by Jo Ann Campbell

Jo Ann Campbell

Jo Ann Campbell is an American pop singer.Campbell began attending music school at the age of four, and won many honors as a drum majorette at Fletcher High School...

, released in August 1962:

Yes, I'm the girl from Wolverton Mountain

I wish someone would make me their wife

Another answer song is "Wolverton Mountain Bride", recorded by UK country singer Stephen Smyth.

Chart performance

Chart (1962)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot C&W Sides	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	3