November
03
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Listen to Acker Bilk’s Stranger on the Shore
Acker Bilk, the legendary Jazz clarinettist, died yesterday at 85.
The musician, who lived in Pensford, Somerset, died this afternoon at Bath’s Royal United Hospital, his manager Pamela Sutton said.
Bilk, known for performing in a garish waistcoat and bowler hat, was the first UK act to top the US charts in the 1960s. His most famous hit, Stranger on the Shore, stayed in the charts for a year after it was released in 1961, winning him four gold discs.
“Stranger on the Shore” is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named “Jenny” after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people entitled Stranger on the Shore.