Good, Bad and Ugly Songs About Anchorage

Part of a continuation weekly series Alaska History by Local Historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Fill out the form at the bottom of this article.

Over the course of more than a century, Anchorage has inspired a wide variety of songs, though not as many as you might think. These are songs that are explicitly about Anchorage, with one small exception. Many other songs have been written by Anchorage artists, about Anchorage artists, or otherwise inspired by Anchorage. Some of these examples are good. Some are bad. And at least one is just plain weird, though personal judgment varies.

The December 16, 1943, issue of the Anchorage Daily Times included this little note among its birth announcements: “A 7-pound baby girl, Cheryl Marie, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Jack M. McConkey at 12:20 a.m. this morning at Providence Hospital.” Jack was a soldier at Fort Richardson. More importantly for this article, Cheryl’s grandfather was songwriter William H. Curtis. With David Ahlstrand, Curtis wrote “Send Me a Picture of Our Little Girl.” Nearly 80 years later, Cheryl’s grandson, musician Travis Frank, recorded a version with Leonoor Rinke de Wit on vocals.

As the song goes, “Send me a picture of our little girl, she’s the best girl we ever had. She’s the cutest little girl you ever saw, and she looks just like her mother and father.” It’s rude to point out a small mistake, but be honest with yourself. The song goes on to state, “It was in a naval hospital, and it sure was a good place to be, the doctors and nurses there, they all loved her too.” However, Cheryl was born in Providence, a private hospital in a military town. In 1943, Providence was located near the western end of Delaney Park.

During the slow march toward statehood, curiosity about Alaska grew nationwide. There were movies, television shows, and novels, but fantasy songs were among the most notable attempts to cash in on the phenomenon. From 1958 to 1960 alone, when interest in Alaska was at its peak, there were Lawton Williams’ “Alaska vs. Texas,” the Rebelaires’ “Alaska Rock,” Larry and Dixie Davis’ “Welcome Alaska,” Freddie Bearden’s “Alaska the 49th Star,” Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy’s “The Cool Alaska Rock & Roll,” and Yukon balladeer Al Oster’s “Midnight Sun Rock,” among others.

“Song of Anchorage,” released in 1957, was one of Johnny and Betty Jo Starr’s many hits. They lived in Palmer for a time before moving to Montana in 1953. They tried several times, but never had a breakthrough hit. Songs like “Copper Colored Klootch,” “Eskimo Boogie,” “I’m a Cheechako,” “Son of a Sourdough,” “Song of Fairbanks,” “The 49th Star” and “When the Ice Worms Nest Again” came and went without notice.

Attributed to Betty Jo Starr and the people of Alaska, the song “Song of Anchorage” is embarrassingly heavy-handed in its attempts to curry favor with the people of Anchorage. “There’s a city in Alaska, the greatest of them all, filled with wonderful people, who answered her call. On the shores of Cook’s Inlet, this city was born, called Anchorage, Alaska, the Queen of the North.” Or, Betty Jo sings, “There’s a smile on every face, no stranger you meet, whether you’re driving down the highway or walking down the street. There’s a sign that says ‘Welcome,’ at every entrance to the city. No more welcoming city can be found.”

The strangest and most mysterious song about Anchorage is an untitled and uncredited piece from the 1960 short documentary film “Land of White Alice.” White Alice refers to the White Alice communications system, the National Defense Early Warning and Telecommunications Relay Stations throughout Alaska from the 1950s to the 1970s. The film was produced by Western Electric, which designed the White Alice system.

For a 27-minute documentary that is mostly about isolated radio stations, the film spends a surprising amount of time masquerading as a travelogue. Kotzebue and Anchorage get special coverage. And during the Anchorage segment, a strange song plays. “What’s it called? Anchorage, like an anchor.” It comforts newcomers. “It’s not very far, but everything you want is easy to get in Anchorage!” An exclamation of “Just north of Seattle” will baffle anyone familiar with geography and the finer details of distance. And the accompanying images are dominated by bars and two soldiers leering at women as they pass by. It’s something to experience.

Blue Ervin quickly released “Alaska Earthquake” after the Good Friday earthquake of March 27, 1964. “Blue Ervin” was the name of Ervin C. Elswick, an Army sergeant then stationed in Anchorage. The song is a straightforward account of the earthquake, eager to congratulate the people of Alaska for not dying. “Anchorage and Whittier, Seward and Kodiak all suffered greatly when the earth began to crack. They’re all rebuilding their homes and stores once again, because they’re great people, living on the shores of Alaska.”

In 1968, Alaska Airlines produced a musical to promote travel to the 49th state, as part of the Golden Nugget promotion. “It’s Alaska” featured songs composed by Elizabeth Firestone Willis and performed by the Harry Simeone Choir. Willis was a noted musician with a litany of professional credits, as well as the wife of Alaska Airlines President Charles Willis. The musical consisted of a tour of the state with simulated plane takeoffs and landings. It toured the country before union disputes ended its run a few months earlier.

Later that year, an album came out with a little song called “Anchorage Town.” Indeed, “Everything’s happening in Anchorage. You can find excitement all year long.” Did you also know that “Summer means hunting. Winter means skiing. We dance all over town.” It’s a political song that features baby kisses and handshakes, albeit with a bit of a swing beat.

In the summer of 1969, the Youngbloods played the Idle Hour in Anchorage, near Lake Spenard. Their most popular song by far was “Get Together,” written by Chet Powers of the psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. It’s a quintessential late-’60s song, used in movies like “Forrest Gump” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” to evoke a fleeting, ephemeral spirit. “Come on, people now, smile at your brother, everybody get together, try to love each other now.” Inspired by their time in Anchorage, they released “On Beautiful Lake Spenard” in 1970, an instrumental piece that is both contemplative and celebratory.

In 1978, Japanese singer Aki Hitomi released her first single, “Anchorage Keiyu Paris Iki (To Paris Via Anchorage)”. Starting in 1960, Japan Airlines offered a flight to Paris with a stopover in Anchorage. This trip was so successful that it became part of the Japanese cultural landscape.

Anchorage punk band Clyng-Onz’s 1985 song “Environmental Song” is more about Alaska in general and a certain type of Alaskan in particular than it is about Anchorage in particular. “People all look the same here. REI clothes are pretty simple. We gotta get out before we go crazy.”

And of course, there’s Spenard legend Mr. Whitekeys. The longtime Fly By Night owner and musical comedy performer is perhaps best known for his Whale Fat Follies. Among his frequent Anchorage shoots is the “Hooker in Spenard.”

I want to be a prostitute in Spenard,

I mean this job can’t be that hard.

You just stay in the shadows of seedy bars

And show your products to passing cars.

What a job, just lie down and relax.

No union dues, no income tax.

Perhaps the most serious example on this list is singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked’s “Anchorage.” It’s the first single from her major-label debut album, “Short Sharp Shocked,” released in 1988. The song takes the form of a letter between two friends who reconnect after a few years apart.

I took the time to write to my old friend / I crossed that burning bridge / I sent my letter to Dallas / But her answer came from Anchorage, Alaska.

She said: Hey girl, it’s about time you wrote / It’s been over two years, you know, my old friend / Take me back to the days of foreign telegrams / And rock ‘n roll all night / Hey Chel, we was crazy back then.

They were real friends and a real letter. “Chel” is Shocked. The other friend is Kelli Bingham. They met in Dallas but lost touch. Bingham’s husband found work in Anchorage and moved the family north. Shocked, on the other hand, had a more itinerant lifestyle, living in San Francisco, Amsterdam and New York. In a 1988 interview with WFUV in New York, she said, “I really took the letter she wrote me from Anchorage. I cut it out. I glued it on and added the tagline ‘anchored in Anchorage.’ That’s my only real contribution.” The old friends reunited in July 1988 while Shocked was in Alaska shooting a music video for the song.

Mercury Records released “Short Sharp Shocked.” After three albums with them, the relationship between the artist and the label became acrimonious, ending in a lawsuit. Believing that music streaming services unfairly exploit artists, his music is not available on Spotify or Apple Music. Copies of the album on CD are available on his website for $250.

Admittedly, it’s a motley collection of songs. Some are enjoyable, some are a bit harsh, and some struggle to hold up for two or three minutes. Yet none of them truly represent Anchorage. None of them reflect reality. Anchorage is perhaps too complicated a subject, a remarkably diverse multicultural metropolis born of colonial expansion, tangled veins of all things dark and light. In different corners, Anchorage is breathtaking or odious. Whether you think there’s more of one or the other says more about your personality than the city itself. How do you fit all that into a few minutes of music?

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Main sources:

Beale, Betty. “‘It’s Alaska’ Album Salvaged From Musical.” Anchorage Daily Times, July 27, 1968, p. 9.

“Large Crowds Love Show in Alaska.” Anchorage Daily News, January 17, 1968, p. 2.

“New Record.” Anchorage Daily News, January 9, 1959, p. 12.

Rich, Kim. “The Boundaries of Friendship,” Anchorage Daily News, December 14, 1988, E-1, E-2.

Shocked, Michelle. A mix of things. By Pete Fornatale. WFUV 90.7 FM, December 7, 1988.

“Three children were born, two of them girls.” Anchorage Daily Times, December 16, 1943, p. 3.