Acker Bilk Biography

Fast Facts

• Learned how to play the clarinet while serving in the British Army by copying the recordings of famous jazz musicians
• His single "Stranger on the Shore" made him the first artist to have a chart-topping song in both the United Kingdom and the United States at the same time
• Was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 for his services to the music industry
• After completing his military service, he worked as a blacksmith for his uncle before forming the band the Chew Valley Jazzmen in 1953
• Quote: "(On writing "Stranger on the Shore"): "I didn't think it was much different from any of the rest of it․ It was just a thing that came out of my head, that's all․ I didn't sort of work on it or do much at all with it․""
• Best known as a jazz clarinetist and vocalist whose hit song "Stranger on the Shore" was the biggest selling single of 1962
• Often referred to his clarinet as "that thing I stick in my head and blow․"