Blue Ervin - Alaska Earthquake (MP3)
Today marks the 44th anniversary of the devastating Alaska earthquake, the largest ever recorded in North America. On March 27, 1964 the quake, sometimes known as the Good Friday Earthquake, pulverized Prince William Sound and the surrounding areas. The event lasted approximately 4 minutes and had a moment magnitude of 9.2 Mw, which translates to 8.4 on the Richter scale. Life magazine reported that the earthquake unleashed "more than 2,000 times the power of the mightiest nuclear bomb ever detonated."
Though the most heavily damaged Alaska city was probably Anchorage, located about 75 miles north of the earthquake's epicenter, a number of other cities and towns were badly damaged. In addition, the earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that struck the shores of Canada, Washington, Oregon and California. In fact, the tsunami caused deaths as far away as Crescent City, California where 11 people were killed after a 21 foot wave swept into the town's harbor.
The US Geological Survey has an extensive online collection of photographs of the damage done in Alaska. The Alaska Digital Archives also features an extensive array of photos and short film clips of the earthquake's aftermath.
If you have any interest in songs based on real life tragedies, a couple more can be found here.
yo!! this is sooo kool!!!
Posted by: Molly | April 21, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Thanks so much! I'm going to play this on KSDP-830am the next time I'm on the air.
Posted by: virgil | May 22, 2008 at 11:04 PM
MANY MANY THANKS for the song "Alaska Earthquake" by Blue Ervin.
I have hunted for this song for 40 years. I loaned my 45 rpm copy of this song to a friend who moved away and I never found another copy. I am a veteran of the March 27th, 1964 earthquake and was at Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska that day. I made me a copy of this song and also put it in my PC music library.
So very grateful. Thank you so very much !!!
Craig Alleman
Knoxville TN
Posted by: Craig Alleman | June 16, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I am also tsunami victim. I feel that how we mentally down after such an incident. This show how we act when such an incident happens.
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Nishantha
Addiction Recovery Alaska
Posted by: Nishantha | June 29, 2008 at 09:53 AM
This is a great content. This will help more people who face such an incident.
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Nishantha
Social Media Marketing
Posted by: Geetha | August 12, 2008 at 06:26 AM
Earthquakes in Alaska are caused as the Pacific tectonic plate slides beneath the North American plate. A chain of volcanos spanning the tip of the Aleutian Island arc to southeast Alaska are the result of the same inexorable plate movement.
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samflutch
Alaska Drug Treatment
Posted by: samflutch | August 13, 2008 at 07:27 AM
any tsunami survivors - we want to hear your story. please contact the Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska. thanks
Posted by: cindi | April 04, 2009 at 11:43 AM
I have a good friend that was in alaska when the earthquake happened and has been looking for this record. I would like to know if this record can be purchased
Posted by: Loretta | February 12, 2010 at 04:46 PM
I was just thinking of this song today as I reminisced about my experience as a 10 year old during the ' 64 quake. I remembered this song but not all the lyrics so I Googled it and found this post. Thank you!
Posted by: Sandi Brown | April 18, 2012 at 12:04 AM
Blue Ervin - Alaska Earthquake
I was born in Anchorage, and raised in Homer, Alaska on a ranch.
I was almost 13 when the quake hit, and into music - buying lots of 45's. The one I purchased that was about the quake had some of the same lyrics in it as Blue Ervin's but Ervins version doesn't include the following lyrics:
"it happened good friday 1964 -- the ground started shaking like it had never shook before, 5 minutes past - the end at last - Alaska lay crippled and torn, it happened good friday 1964"
AND:
"all the men on the deck of the fishing boat Lou thought the earth and the sea were at war, it happened good friday 1964"
Now this isn't a dream - I HAD/OWNED this 45 record - it had a YELLOW lable and I think the artists frist name was DON --- I thought his family name was Sanders, Sonders, or maybe Saunders - I simply no longer remember. I lost the record in time due to a series of divorces, so can supply no other information. I have searched for years for another copy of this recording.
This Blue Ervins version is as close as I've ever came, but it's not set to the same music, and only part of the lyrics are the same.
Anyone with more information would be helpful.
Thank you.
Posted by: C.K. M. | March 25, 2013 at 05:25 PM