Remember Clifton Clowers in Song?
The song was "Wolverton Mountain," as sung by Claude King. The spelling of the actual mountain was "Woolverton." Both the mountain, in Arkansas, and the man in the song, Clifton Clowers, were real.
King and Merle Kilgore composed the song.
Alline Clowers, a teacher in the Galena school system, was married to Clifton's brother, Ted Clowers. I remember Ted as a referee in some of our high school basketball games. I first heard of the song connection from Alline and was amazed to find out. I really liked the recording and still do.
The mountain overlooks the small town of Center Ridge. Kilgore was Clifton's nephew, and longtime friend and manager to Hank Williams Jr. Kilgore also cowrote "Ring of Fire" with June Carter Cash.
Oh... and Clifton in real life had two pretty young daughters, Burlene and Virginia.
Clifton was born in 1891 and died in 1994 at age 102.
Some details:
Clifton T. Clowers of Woolverton Mountain, became a Conway County legend as a result of a popular song written by Claude King and Merle Kilgore and was performed by many artists including Bing Crosby.
The song "Wolverton Mountain," warns would-be suitors to stay away from the mountain where Clifton Clowers was protecting his pretty young daughter because "he's mighty handy with a gun and a knife." He was the son of Jefferson Davis Clowers and Mary Prince Clowers. He was a World War I veteran and a member of the Mountain View Baptist Church where he was a deacon for several years. Survivors at the time of his death include three sons, Guy Clowers of Howell, Mich., Ted Clowers of Joplin, Mo., and Burl Clowers of Modesto, Calif.; two daughters, Virginia Green of Hurricane, W. Va., and Burlene Moore of Clinton, Ark.
Burial:
Center Ridge
Conway County
Arkansas, USA
