Acker Bilk

Birth Name:

Bernard Stanley Bilk

Birth Place:

Pensford, Somerset, England, United Kingdom

Profession

Soundtrack, Music department

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
Learned how to play the clarinet while serving in the British Army by copying the recordings of famous jazz musicians
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․"

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