North to Alaska (song)

Last updated
"North to Alaska"
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton.jpg
Single by Johnny Horton
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side "Mansion You Stole"
ReleasedAugust 22, 1960
RecordedAugust 9, 1960
Genre Country
Length2:49
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Mike Phillips, Tillman Franks [1]
Producer(s) Don Law
Johnny Horton singles chronology
"Johnny Freedom"
(1960)
"North to Alaska"
(1960)
"Sleepy-Eyed John"
(1961)

"North to Alaska" is a 1960 hit song recorded by Johnny Horton that was featured in the movie of the same name. The song was written by Mike Phillips, along with Tillman Franks. Though Horton had sung several popular movie tie-in songs, this was the first one that was sung over the opening titles. Horton died in an automobile accident November 5, 1960 two days before the movie was released. [2] Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. [3]

Contents

Background

The song's lyrics during the opening titles of the film provide a back story for the point where the film begins: Sam McCord left Seattle in 1892 with George and Billy Pratt, "crossed the Yukon river" and "found the bonanza gold below that old white mountain just a little southeast of Nome." By "1901" Sam was known as "a mighty man", and his partner George then tells him, "I'd trade all the gold that's buried in this land for one small band of gold to place on sweet little Jenny's hand." George feels that Jenny is his "true love", and he declares he will "build for my Jenny a honeymoon home" below the same mountain where gold was discovered. An instrumental of the song is also played at the saloon on a piano when Sam and Angel arrive in Nome. The bass singing portion is done by Rusty Goodman.

Chart performance

"North to Alaska" topped Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart, [4] reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and eight on Norway Singles Chart. [5]

Chart (1960–61)Peak
position
Australia Singles Chart2
Canada (CHUM) [6] 1
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) [7] 6
Norway (VG-lista) [8] 8
UK Singles (OCC) [9] 23
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] 4
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [11] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [12] 10
West Germany [13] 41

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon River</span> Song from the 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffanys"

"Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Only You (And You Alone)</span> Pop song composed by Buck Ram

"Only You (And You Alone)" (often shortened to "Only You") is a pop song composed by Buck Ram. It was originally recorded by The Platters with lead vocals by Tony Williams in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sink the Bismark</span> 1960 single by Johnny Horton

"Sink the Bismark" is a march song by American country music singer Johnny Horton and songwriter Tillman Franks, based on the pursuit and eventual sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, during World War II. Horton released this song through Columbia Records in 1960, when it reached #3 on the charts. As originally released, the record label used the common misspelling "Bismark"; this error was corrected for later releases of the song. It was inspired by the 1960 British war movie Sink the Bismarck! and was in fact commissioned from Johnny Horton by 20th Century Fox who were worried about the subject's relative obscurity in the United States. For some reason the size comparisons of guns and shells are switched. While the song was used in U.S. theater trailers for the film, it was not used in the film itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That Old Black Magic</span> 1943 single by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Skip Nelson and The Modernaires

"That Old Black Magic" is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen (music), with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They wrote it for the 1942 film Star Spangled Rhythm, when it was sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera Zorina. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 but lost out to "You'll Never Know".

"I Really Don't Want to Know" is a popular song written by Don Robertson (music) Howard Barnes (lyrics). The song was published in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runaway (Del Shannon song)</span> 1961 single by Del Shannon

"Runaway" is a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song made famous by Del Shannon in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit. It was No. 472 on the 2010 version of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 466 on the 2004 version.

<i>North to Alaska</i> 1960 film by Henry Hathaway, John Wayne

North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic Western/Northern film directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne (uncredited). The picture stars Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, and Capucine. The script is based on the 1939 play Birthday Gift by Ladislas Fodor and is set during the Nome gold rush.

"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman. Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It was originally recorded in late 1959 at the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis before the backing vocals were overdubbed. It performed well, spending 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #21 in May 1960, while reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, and #25 on Canada's "CHUM Hit Parade". The song was his only top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the highest-charting single of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Battle of New Orleans</span> Song written by Jimmy Driftwood

"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Break It to Me Gently</span>

"Break It to Me Gently" is a pop song written by blues musician Joe Seneca with lyrics by Diane Lampert. Both Brenda Lee and Juice Newton met with considerable success with their versions of the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody</span> 1918 single by Al Jolson

"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical Sinbad and published in 1918.

"You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" is a popular song written by Russ Morgan, Larry Stock, and James Cavanaugh and published in 1944. The song was first recorded by Morgan and was a hit for him in 1946, reaching the No. 14 spot in the charts. The best known version was Dean Martin's, which was released in 1960 and reissued in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travelin' Man</span> 1961 single by Ricky Nelson

"Travelin' Man" is an American popular song, best known as a 1961 hit single sung by Ricky Nelson. Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller wrote it with Sam Cooke in mind, but Cooke's manager was unimpressed and did not keep the demo, which eventually wound up being passed along to Nelson. His version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released as a double A-side with "Hello Mary Lou", which reached No. 9 on the same chart. In the United Kingdom, "Travelin' Man", coupled with "Hello Mary Lou", reached No. 2, becoming Nelson's biggest UK hit. Nelson is accompanied on the recording by the vocal quartet, The Jordanaires.

"The Old Lamp-Lighter" is a popular song. The music was written by Nat Simon, the lyrics by Charles Tobias. The song was published in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Now or Never (song)</span> English-language song

"It's Now or Never" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single in 1960.

"634-5789 " is a soul song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett on December 20, 1965 and included on his 1966 Atlantic Records album The Exciting Wilson Pickett with backing vocals by Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 13 on the Hot 100 singles chart.

"Last Date" is a 1960 instrumental written and performed by Floyd Cramer. It exemplifies the "slip note" style of piano playing that Cramer made popular. It peaked at number 11 on the country chart and at number two on the Hot 100 behind "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley. Cramer's recording inspired a number of successful cover versions, including a vocal adaptation by Conway Twitty.

"I Love You Because" is a song written and recorded by country music singer and songwriter Leon Payne in 1949. The song has been covered by several artists throughout the years, including hit cover versions by Al Martino in 1963 and Jim Reeves in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Boy (song)</span> 1958 single by Jim Reeves

"Blue Boy" is a song written by Boudleaux Bryant, sung by Jim Reeves, and released on the RCA Victor label. In July 1958, it peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's country and western jockey chart. It spent 22 weeks on the charts and was also ranked No. 10 on Billboard's 1958 year-end country and western chart. On the Hot 100, "Blue Boy" peaked at No. 45.

References

  1. "www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com". www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  2. "Western-Style Singer Johnny Horton Killed: Man Who Made 'Battle of New Orleans' Popular Dies in Texas Highway Crash". Los Angeles Times. Nov 6, 1960. p. E1.
  3. Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 162.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 85.
  6. "CHUM Hit Parade". CHUM Tribute. 1960-11-21. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  7. Flavour of New Zealand, 26 January 1961
  8. "Johnny Horton – North to Alaska". VG-lista.
  9. "Johnny Horton: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  10. "Johnny Horton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. "Johnny Horton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  12. "Johnny Horton Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  13. "JOHNNY HORTON – NORTH TO ALASKA (SONG)"