#21: The Comancheros by Claude King
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CFAC
Peak Month: December 1961
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #19
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #71
YouTube: “The Comancheros”
Lyrics: “The Comancheros”
Claude King was born in 1923 in rural Louisiana. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After WWII King formed a band with two of his friends and were called the Rainbow Boys. The trio played around Shreveport in their spare time while working an assortment of other jobs. He joined the Louisiana Hayride, a television and radio show produced at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium and broadcast throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom. He was on shows with Elvis Presley, Faron Young, Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, Hank Williams, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells and others. He recorded for Gotham Records with little success. But when he switched to Columbia Records, he had a hit with “Big River, Big Man”. It was both a country top 10 and a small pop crossover success. Next, Claude King released “The Comancheros”.