Wolverton Mountain

Wolverton Mountain

"Wolverton Mountain" was a hit that launched Claude King's career in the US in 1962. The song was written together with Merle Kilgore and was based on a real character, Clifton Clowers, who lived on Wolverton Mountain in Arkansas. The song spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart 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, son of Thomas Jefferson 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 spelled 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, and was buried at the Woolverton Mountain Cemetery.

信不信由您，多年來我在心中都會在無意中哼起這首歌出來，因為歌詞當中有提到她那溫柔的的嘴唇有如蜂蜜般的甜美，而她父親 Clifton Clowers 粗壯的手臂握著刀槍將她保護在 Wolverton Mountain 裡面。一直以來我都不知道這首歌的歌名及演唱者，也從來沒有再聽過完整的歌曲，既然又開始聽歌，就嘗試著在 YouTube 當中找尋，我只打上歌詞的第一句 They say don’t go … 就出現這首歌的資料出來，簡直是太神奇了，我必須將這段過程與大家分享，那種找回青春歲月的快感有些不太真實。