Representative Albums: "16 Original Classics," "More Than Climbing That Mountain," "American Originals"
Representative Songs: "Wolverton Mountain," "The Comancheros," "Big River, Big Man"
Biography
Singer/songwriter and actor Claude King is best remembered for his one big hit, "Wolverton Mountain," the tale of one Clifton Clowers who is "mighty handy with a gun and a knife" and keeps his daughter sequestered in their mountain home away from potential suitors. Focusing exclusively on that song results in an incomplete picture of King's career, however; he emerged from the milieu that also produced Johnny Horton, and after "Wolverton Mountain" he scored another 27 chart singles. The Shreveport, LA, native was a natural athlete as a child. When he was 12, he learned how to play guitar. After attending college on a baseball scholarship, he spent the late '40s and early '50s working as a construction engineer and performing music in local clubs and on TV and radio. Early on, he met up with Tillman Franks, who became Horton's manager and also a top talent official with the Louisiana Hayride program on Shreveport radio station KWKH. King recorded his first single for the President label in 1947. He followed up with the hilarious honky tonker "51 Beers" (Gotham, 1949) and with other singles, including four recorded for Specialty in 1952, but despite some Hayride appearances lined up by Franks, he remained just under the national radar.
In 1961, King signed to Columbia and released his first single, "Big River, Big Man." The song became a Top Ten country hit as well as a minor pop hit. The follow-up, "The Comancheros," also made it to the Top Ten. Around this time King teamed up with Merle Kilgore to write "Wolverton Mountain," a song that neatly blended a classic fairy-tale quality with Horton's storytelling style -- and capped off the whole with lush Nashville sound background vocals that accented the song's theme of youthful ardor. "Wolverton Mountain" spent nine weeks at the top of the country charts and peaked at number six on the pop charts. Two more hits -- the Top Ten "The Burning of Atlanta" and the number 11 "I've Got the World by the Tail" -- followed, and King and his band, the Nashville Knights, became hot tickets. Through 1964, he continued his string of successes with singles like "Hey Lucille!," "Sam Hill," and "Building a Bridge," but his hits became more sporadic in the latter half of the '60s. King left Columbia in 1971 and began recording with little success on independent labels. "Cotton Dan," which barely nicked the bottom of the charts, became his last hit in 1977. During his career, King also appeared in two feature films, Swamp Girl and Year of the Wahoo. He also appeared in the 1982 television miniseries The Blue and the Gray. ~ Sandra Brennan & James Manheim, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Bella Donna, The Dark Angel, Stolen Sweets
First Major Screen Credit: Bella Donna (1923)
Biography
Veteran British stage actor and director Claude King made his first film in 1923, playing Lord Charles Chetwyn in the historical drama Six Days. Brought to America by MGM, the most "British" of Hollywood's studios, King essayed aristocratic roles in such films as Lon Chaney's London After Midnight (1927) and Mr. Wu (1928). One of his earliest talkie assignments was the plum role of Sir John Petrie in Paramount's The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. He spent the 1930s as in general-purpose "English gentleman" assignment. Curiously, some of his better roles, notably General Fletcher in Bonnie Scotland (1935) and the Hollywood producer who reacts in mute astonishment as Janet Gaynor launches into a Garbo imitation in A Star is Born (1937), were unbilled. Claude King ended his Hollywood career where it began, at MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
King was born in Keithville, Louisiana, near the city of Shreveport. At a young age, he was interested in music but his primary interest was athletics. He purchased a guitar at age 12 and although he learned to play, most of his time was devoted to sports. He was offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Idaho at Moscow.
King recorded a few songs for Gotham Records, though none was successful. In 1961, he became more serious about a musical career and signed with the Nashville, Tennessee division of Columbia Records. He struck immediately, cutting "Big River, Big Man," a country top 10 and even a small pop crossover success. He soon followed with "The Comancheros" inspired by the movie of the same title starring John Wayne. It was a top 10 country hit in late 1961, also crossing over to the pop chart.
King made his best known recording in the spring of 1962. "Wolverton Mountain," written with Nashville veteran Merle Kilgore, was based on a real character, Clifton Clowers, who lived on Wolverton Mountain in Arkansas. The song became an immediate hit, staying at number one for nine weeks during its 26-week run on the Billboard country chart. It was also a pop top 10.
King followed up that year with an American Civil War song, "The Burning Of Atlanta." which also reached the top 10 on the country chart and again made the pop chart. In late 1962, he recorded "I've Got The World By The Tail" which narrowly missed the country top 10.
He had another good year in 1963, scoring three country hits with "Sheepskin Valley," "Building a Bridge" and "Hey Lucille!" The hits continued in 1964 with "Sam Hill," and in 1965 he was back in the top 10 with "Tiger Woman," co-written by Merle Kilgore. King also did well that year with "Little Buddy." His smooth style continued to find favor throughout the decade, especially songs like "Catch a Little Raindrop" and the top 10, "All For The Love Of A Girl" in 1969. His singles continued to hit the country charts through 1972. He left the label in 1973 after 29 hits.
In 1981, ArkansasgovernorFrank D. White paid tribute to King and his big 1962 hit by declaring August 7 "Wolverton Mountain Day." By that time, King had almost retired from recording.
After being absent from recording for more than 20 years, King released a CD called Cowboy in the White House. Most of the songs were written or co-written by him. Elvis Presley's guitarist, James Burton, performed on the album.
