"Stranger on the Shore" | ||||
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Single by Mr. Acker Bilk and the Leon Young String Chorale | ||||
B-side | "Take My Lips" (UK) "Cielito Lindo" (US) | |||
Released | October 1961 | |||
Genre | Jazz [1] | |||
Length | 2:52 | |||
Label | Columbia DB4750 (UK) Atco 45-6217 (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Acker Bilk, Robert Mellin | |||
Producer(s) | Denis Preston | |||
Mr. Acker Bilk and the Leon Young String Chorale singles chronology | ||||
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"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her. [2] The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to Leon Young (1916-1991) who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end. [3]
The recording was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people, Stranger on the Shore . [4] It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 in the US and number 1 in the UK. [5]
In May 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 took "Stranger on the Shore" on their mission to the moon. Gene Cernan, a member of the crew, included the tune on a cassette tape used in the command module of the Apollo spacecraft.
The track, performed by Bilk (as "Mr. Acker Bilk") with backing by the Leon Young String Chorale, was recorded at the Lansdowne Studios and produced by Denis Preston. It was released as a single on EMI's Columbia label, catalogue number DB 4750, in October 1961; the label text states "Theme from the BBC T.V. Series". The UK B-side was "Take My Lips" whereas the US flipside was "Cielito Lindo". The single became a phenomenal success, topping the NME singles chart and spending nearly a year on the Record Retailer Top 50. It was the UK's biggest-selling single of 1962, [6] the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, and appears fifty-eighth in the official UK list of best-selling singles issued in 2002. It had sold 1.16 million copies as of November 2012. [7]
One of songwriter and music publisher Robert Mellin's major songwriting successes came in 1962, when he wrote lyrics for this song, allowing it to be covered by vocal acts including Andy Williams and the Drifters.
On 26 May 1962, "Stranger on the Shore" became the first British recording to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 where it was issued by Atlantic Records on the Atco label, but it was quickly followed, on 22 December, by British band The Tornados' "Telstar", another instrumental. In the pre-rock era, Vera Lynn's "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" had reached #1 in 1952, on the shorter "Best Sellers In Stores" survey. After "Telstar", the next British performers to top the U.S. charts were the Beatles, with their first Capitol Records single "I Want to Hold Your Hand". "Stranger on the Shore" was Billboard's #1 single of 1962, and it spent seven weeks atop the "Easy Listening" chart, which later became known as the Adult Contemporary chart. [8] The tune became the second of three "one-hit wonders" named "pop single of the year" by Billboard (the others being 1958's "Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)" by Domenico Modugno and 2006's "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter).
The song is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. [9]
Chart | Position |
---|---|
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [10] | 95 |
US Billboard Hot 100 (1958-2018) [11] | 360 |
The composition has been covered by many other artists, most prominently a vocal 1962 version by Andy Williams, which reached #9 on the adult contemporary chart, #30 in the UK, and #38 on the Billboard Hot 100, [12] and a group vocal version by the Drifters, which reached #19 on the adult contemporary chart and #73 on the Billboard Hot 100. [13] Herb Alpert did his instrumental cover on his 1987 album Keep Your Eye on Me . Kenny G covered it in 1999 on his album, Classics in the Key of G. A version in French, Savoir Aimer, was sung by Nana Mouskouri.
The song is used as the theme music for the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound . [14]
Chart (1962) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (CHUM Chart) | 3 [15] |
United Kingdom ( Record Retailer ) | 2 [16] [17] [18] |
United Kingdom ( NME ) | 1 [19] |
United Kingdom ( Record Mirror ) | 1 [20] |
Released in 1961, the original Stranger on the Shore album also featured the string arrangements of Leon Young and the performances of his Chorale string players. It primarily consists of melodies from classical, traditional and show music sources, but there is one more original: Is This the Blues, also assembled by Young from a Bilk melody. [21]
Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistcoat.
Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles.
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4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1933. A version recorded by the Weavers was a #1 hit in 1950.
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental by the English band the Tornados, written and produced by Joe Meek. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962. It was the second instrumental single to hit number one in 1962 on both the US and UK weekly charts.
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"This Ole House" is an American popular song written by Stuart Hamblen, and published in 1954. Rosemary Clooney's version reached the top of the popular music charts in both the US and the UK in 1954. The song again topped the UK chart in 1981 in a recording by Shakin' Stevens.
"Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" is a country song about a man away from home who is worried that his paramour may unwittingly stray from their relationship. It was written by Winston L. Moore and published in 1952. The song has been recorded in many different styles by many performers, with Perry Como's version hitting number 1 hit in both the US and UK.
"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw. The song, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, was selected to be the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna. Shaw won the contest, the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision winners. As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks. In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Slow Dance is a song by R. Kelly with Public Announcement from the album Born into the 90's (1992). It was released as a single by Jive Records in August 1992.
"(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful" is a song written by Canadian-American musician John Ellison and first recorded by his R&B group, Soul Brothers Six, in 1967, peaking at number 91 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Stranger on the Shore is a British television drama serial first broadcast by the BBC in 1961. It was written by Sheila Hodgson, and produced and directed by Kevin Sheldon. The show is described by some as a "children's serial", being shown on Sunday afternoons. The five-episode series portrays Marie-Hélène Ronsin, a young French teenager, on her first trip to England as an au pair. Speaking some English, but very shy, she lives with a family in Brighton, and faces the challenges of culture shock. The series was followed the following year by a sequel, entitled Stranger in the City.
"98.6" is a song written by Tony Powers (lyrics) and George Fischoff (music) and recorded by Keith. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard chart and No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967 and appeared on his 1967 album 98.6/Ain't Gonna Lie. The Tokens, who had provided the backing vocals on Keith's debut single, "Ain't Gonna Lie", did the same for "98.6".
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As far as jazz goes, ["Stranger on the Shore" is] so fluffy and inoffensive that it really only barely qualifies.
Originally named "Jenny" (after his daughter) on his LP Sentimental Journey, the song's name was changed when Bilk played it as the theme song for a new children's TV show, Stranger On The Shore.
The biggest-selling single of 1962.