[edit] Career
At a young age, he was interested in music but his primary interest was athletics. He purchased a guitar at the age of 12 and although he learned to play it, most of his time was devoted to sport. This eventually resulted in being offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Idaho at Moscow.
King later returned to Shreveport and joined the Louisiana Hayride, a popular TV and radio show broadcast in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, produced in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Louisiana Hayride ranked second only to the Grand Ole Opry in terms of television and radio importance in the early 1950s to the 1960s and King was frequently billed on the same shows with other famous legends such as Elvis Presley, John Ritter's father, Tex Ritter, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Jimmie Davis, Slim Whitman, Faron Young, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, George Jones and Lefty Frizzell, among many others who became big music stars in the 1960s.
King recorded a few songs for Gotham Records, although none were 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 charts.
King made his "career" 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, going to No.1 for nine weeks during its 26-week run on the Billboard Country charts. It was also a pop Top 10.
King followed up that year with an American Civil War song, "The Burning Of Atlanta" which also went Top 10 on the country charts and again generated a lot of interest on the pop lists. 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 solid 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 country style continued to find a flavor 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 having accomplished 29 hits.
Besides a successful career recording and touring, King also performed as an actor in several movies, and like his nephew, Chris Aable, King is also among a minority of actors who are members in both the Screen Actors Guild and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He appeared in the 1982 television miniseries The Blue and the Gray and appeared in several feature films. King is no relation to another actor by the same name, born in 1875 in England.
In 1981, Arkansas Governor Frank 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 over 20 years, King recently released a new 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 guitar for the release.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_King"
Green Mountain
Claude King Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With coal grey eyes yellow teeth and a face that shows the strain
Of his fight against the people who would cut Green Mountain down
To paid away for what they say is a short cut in the town
Their sugar and the gas tanks of the dosers and the graters and mud
The grits they finished yesterday was washed away by last night's ragin' flood
And the dam went out with dynamite strollin's from the work through shack
But the coal grey eyes of William Deacon never once looked back
But William Deacon swears Green Mountain's gonna stay
They're gonna move Green Mountain at least that's what they say
But there he stands lookin' twice as big as he did yesterday
For hundred years and more the Deacon Clan has planned Green Mountain as dear home
But the highway department don't have the sense to leave well enough alone
Witn an iron hand he raised ten kids and taught 'em right from wrong
And then trouble come the Deacon Clan can be mighty bight and strong
They carried William Deacon's body down from old Green Mountain yesterday
He was crashed by a rollin' grabble truck when he stepped out into the way
The forman round then said well now the work can start again
But he forgot the family pride of all the Deacon Clan
They're gonna move Green Mountain...
The lyrics to Claude King's "Green Mountain" tell the story of William Deacon, a man who stands at the bottom of Green Mountain, staring into the rain. He is depicted as having coal grey eyes, yellow teeth, and a face that shows the strain of his fight against those who want to cut Green Mountain down to make way for a short cut in the town. William Deacon refuses to let Green Mountain be destroyed, even as he stands against the people determined to move it. Despite the fact that they use sugar and the gas tanks of the dosers and graters in their efforts to destroy the verdant mountain, William Deacon refuses to move.
William Deacon is described as unyielding and unmovable, an emblem of the Deacon clan's long-standing fight to protect Green Mountain. The song's lyrics continue to focus on the history of the Deacon clan and their attachment to the mountainside. They have lived there for a hundred years or more, and their kin raised ten children there. However, the highway department wants to destroy Green Mountain, and William Deacon stands in their way. Sadly, at the end of the song, William Deacon is killed when he is hit by a rolling gravel truck, but the Deacon clan's pride will never be broken.
Line by Line Meaning
At the bottom of Green Mountain William Deacon stands and stares into the rain
William Deacon stood at the bottom of Green Mountain, gazing into the rain
With coal grey eyes yellow teeth and a face that shows the strain
William Deacon had coal grey eyes, yellow teeth, and a face that visibly showed the stress he was under
Of his fight against the people who would cut Green Mountain down
He fought against people who wanted to destroy Green Mountain
To paid away for what they say is a short cut in the town
They wanted to cut Green Mountain down to make way for a shortcut in town
Their sugar and the gas tanks of the dosers and the graters and mud
The machinery belonging to these people included sugar, gas tanks, dosers, graters, and mud
The grits they finished yesterday was washed away by last night's ragin' flood
The work they completed the day before was washed away by a flood that night
And the dam went out with dynamite strollin's from the work through shack
The dam was destroyed with dynamite from the worker's shack
But the coal grey eyes of William Deacon never once looked back
William Deacon never looked back despite these adversities
They're gonna move Green Mountain he can't stand in the way
They planned to move Green Mountain, and William Deacon couldn't stop them
But William Deacon swears Green Mountain's gonna stay
Even so, William Deacon vowed that Green Mountain would stay put
They're gonna move Green Mountain at least that's what they say
Despite Deacon's wishes, they planned to move Green Mountain regardless
But there he stands lookin' twice as big as he did yesterday
But William Deacon stood his ground, seeming even more resolute than before
For hundred years and more the Deacon Clan has planned Green Mountain as dear home
The Deacon Clan had cherished Green Mountain as their home for over a century
But the highway department don't have the sense to leave well enough alone
However, the highway department didn't see the value in keeping things as they were
Witn an iron hand he raised ten kids and taught 'em right from wrong
William Deacon firmly raised and taught his ten children
And then trouble come the Deacon Clan can be mighty bight and strong
When in trouble, the Deacon Clan became fiercely resilient
They carried William Deacon's body down from old Green Mountain yesterday
Recently, William Deacon's body was taken from Green Mountain
He was crashed by a rollin' grabble truck when he stepped out into the way
William Deacon was struck by a truck while walking
The forman round then said well now the work can start again
The foreman declared that work could now resume
But he forgot the family pride of all the Deacon Clan
However, he underestimated the pride and strength of the Deacon Clan
They're gonna move Green Mountain...
Despite the family's wishes, they still intended to move Green Mountain
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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Pat Mckay
Best song that Claude ever sang
Augustine Riley
Great song from Claude, thanks .
Pat Mckay
Best song that Claude ever sang in my opinion
Bruce Boucher
Love the song