Bilk
Acker Bilk
(1929-2014)
was born in Somerset, England, and
retained his delightful Somerset accent
all his life. He was a jazz musician, a
clarinettist and singer. Recordings by his band "Acker
Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band" were
close to top of British pop charts in
the 1960s, during a major revival of
Trad Jazz - Dixieland. In 1962 he
composed a tune called "Stranger on the
Shore", which he played in his deep
breathy and quivering style, backed by a
string section instead of his jazz band.
This became a huge international hit,
top of charts for over a year.