NORTH TO ALASKA
North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic Western 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 play Birthday Gift by Ladislas Fodor and set during the Nome gold rush. The movie featured Johnny Horton’s song “North to Alaska”, sung during the opening titles. (More from Wikipedia)
Country music and rockabilly artist Johnny Horton had a good streak of his own going with several “historical ballads”, beginning with “The Battle of New Orleans” in 1959; the song won the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Horton continuing the following year with two more hits, “Sink the Bismarck” and “North to Alaska” (the latter being the theme song for the John Wayne movie called North to Alaska). There is no telling how much further Horton might have been able to take this craze had it not been for his tragic death in November 1960.
(March 2013)
