Bilk was not internationally known musician until an experiment with a
string ensemble and a composition of his own as its keynote piece made
him one in 1962. Upon the birth of his daughter, he composed and
dedicated a melody entitled "Jenny" (her name). He was approached by a
British television series for permission to use that melody, but to
change the title to "Stranger on the Shore". He went on to record it as the
title track of a new album in which his
signature deep, quivering clarinet was backed by the Leon Young String
Chorale. The single was not only a big hit in the United Kingdom, where
it stayed on the charts for 55 weeks, gaining a second wind after Bilk
was the subject of the TV show This Is Your Life, but also shot to the top of
the American charts
From: "s3raph...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]"
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, November 2, 2014 6:59 PM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] R.I.P. Acker Bilk
"Trad jazz" English clarinettist Acker Bilk "dropped the body" today.
HisStranger on the Shore has to be a serious contender for the most-beautiful
popular music release ever. (And the first No. 1 single in the US by a British
artist!) Fantastic tear-jerker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jzx664u5DA
