[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"
Little Bitty Heart
Claude King Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It will just keep right on breaking if you ever let it fall
And I guess I've never known how to solve the mystery
Oh how a thing so tiny could control so much of me
A little bitty love can grow the strongest
A little bitty time away from you can be the longest
Oh how I wish I had never come to know how a little bitty heart can break so big
I would lock it deep inside me just out of reach of you
But I guess there is no way how to solve the mystery
Oh how a thing so tiny could control so much of me
A little bitty love can grow
How a little bitty heart can break so big
The lyrics to Claude King's song "Little Bitty Heart" describe the power and vulnerability of the human heart. The first verse speaks to the paradoxical nature of the heart, which is both small and yet capable of causing great pain. King describes the heart as a mysterious force that he has never been able to fully understand, and he expresses a sense of helplessness in the face of its power. The chorus suggests that even the tiniest bit of love can have a profound impact, and that the pain of separation can feel endless. The second verse takes a slightly more cynical tone, as King wishes he could find a way to protect himself from the heart's power by obtaining a new one, but ultimately concludes that there is no escaping its hold.
Overall, the lyrics explore themes of love, heartbreak, and the powerful and elusive nature of the human heart. King's voice adds depth and emotion to the already poignant lyrics, and listeners are left with a powerful sense of the weight of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
The strangest thing in all the world is a heart so small
It's hard to believe that something as small as a heart can have such a big impact.
It will just keep right on breaking if you ever let it fall
If you don't protect your heart, it will keep getting hurt.
And I guess I've never known how to solve the mystery
I don't know how to figure out why my heart hurts so much.
Oh how a thing so tiny could control so much of me
It's unbelievable that something as small as a heart could have so much power over me.
A little bitty love can grow the strongest
Even a small amount of love can become very strong.
A little bitty time away from you can be the longest
Just a short time apart from you can feel like an eternity.
Oh how I wish I had never come to know how a little bitty heart can break so big
I regret ever learning how much pain a small heartbreak can cause.
I wish that I could find a way to get a heart that's new
I wish I could replace my heart with a brand new one.
I would lock it deep inside me just out of reach of you
I would try to protect my new heart from being hurt by keeping it away from you.
But I guess there is no way how to solve the mystery
Unfortunately, there's no way to completely protect your heart from getting hurt.
How a little bitty heart can break so big
It's amazing how much pain a small heartbreak can cause.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: CLAUDE KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brad Richardson
One of my favorite tunes. RIP Claude King, you were a wonderful tunesmith.
Connie Brown
How can i address joey and rory. Most sincerely
paul stroope
This is the flip side to Wolverton Mountian, what a record, what a singer,
Janice Mills
one of my favorites of the time. I listened to the back side of most of the 45's, Sue Thompson had good back sides too.
mjpmusic
Good song. I thought I was the only one who knew what a gem this song is... just goes to show everything, but everything is on YouTube...
Cecilia van der Merwe
another great song from Claude <3
Tedda G
My father sings this song to his 4 daughters.. makes me cry..
Thumper B
I would love to get one of his albums on cd. If any one knows if that is possible I would appreciate it. I love his music.
Dee Baker
Thumper B look on amazon
Frank Burton
Lovely singer. Real nice