Favorite BIG #1 HITS Through the Years: 1961 Country

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Here comes another big classic chart topper! I sound like Casey Kasem, don’t I? Not as much as Shaggy on Scooby Doo did! (For those of you who don’t know, Shaggy was voiced by Casey Kasem.) I would have had this typed by now if it wasn’t for you meddling kids! Here’s the #1 song I picked from 1961. 1961 (Country): North to Alaska - Johnny Horton Johnny Horton never lived to see the success of this song. He was killed in a car wreck two and a half months after the song was released. Serving as the theme to the John Wayne film North to Alaska, the song provided the plot of the movie (which saves film, I guess). Take it away from the movie (my dad was a big John Wayne fan, but I don’t think I’ve seen the movie all the way through in one sitting), and it’s still a great song. There were a lot of country songs that were inspired by movies or written for movies in the late 50s and early 60s (not to mention the great Gene Pitney song “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance”), and this is one of the best. North to Alaska Written by Mike Phillips Recorded by Johnny Horton Released as a single, 1960 #1 for five weeks Way up north: