Posted on 11/02/2014 2:21:42 PM PST by the scotsman
'Clarinettist Acker Bilk, who personified the trad jazz revival of the 1950s and 60s, has died after a lengthy illness, aged 85.
His most famous number Stranger on the Shore was the UK's biggest selling single of 1962 and made him an international star.
Born Bernard Stanley Bilk, he changed his name to Acker - Somerset slang for mate - after learning to play the clarinet in the Army.
His last concert was in August 2013.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
You grew up in 60’s/70’s Texas?. Cool.
What always make us laugh (in a nice way) is the idea that you lot then, with your fantastic scenery, thought Liverpool and Manchester, even London, were exotic.....lol
And so the only remaining great British jazzer passes...the other being the legendary Kenny Ball a few years ago.Why am I beginning to feel so old?RIP Mr Bilk...Heaven sure does have one heck of a band.
Another Brit Expat here . . . I’ll be dragging out all my Acker Bilk recordings tonight and playing them to my hearts content . . . RIP Acker, you were (and are still) great.
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Even more trivia: It was called an “album” because a 78rpm disc could only hold one song on each side, so music collections were sold in albums.
Thanks for posting/linking, scotsman. Condolences to family and friends of Acker Bilk.
May he rest in peace.
Well-said, taildragger.
LOL!
Ah yes, before there was Kenny G, there was Acker Bilk. RIP.
Chris Barber is alive and kicking, just saw him in Feb this year, still terrific, even shook the great man’s hand.
Interesting how there were so many successful instrumentals in that late fifties/early sixties time period. Then they simply vanished. A lot of DJs used to use them to lead up to news on the hour - then it got so bad they had to talk over every last second of instrumental in a song’s intro. It was kind of fun to listen to them struggle to talk over something like Treat Her Right.
As a kid, not knowing better, I though his name was “Acker Bill”. Those were the days...
Since so few have seen him live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7jZeXvpyZQ
This one’s lovely and appropriate for the moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm2csqUjIbI
I heard the song many times on KFOG in San Francisco, while riding with my dad in his car. Two years prior to that, my parent divorced (bitterly). On the rare occasions he'd pick me up for the weekend, we'd see the Giants or 49ers play. It was pretty heady stuff for an 8 year old boy, and I treasure those memories.
Thanks for the memories, Mr. Bilk.
I have a couple of his albums, released on ATCO records here in the states. Really good recordings.
“”with a smiling Victoria Hamel.””
Loved the show but I have a hard time remembering what role she played????? Help!
RIP, sir.
His “Stranger on the Shore” made me fall in love with the sound of the clarinet.
Oh my!!Of course,my most sincere apologies to Chris Barber....also one of the greats.This age thing plays havoc with the mind...
One of the rare TV shows that I know anything about. Hamel played the love interest of the male lead of the show. Character’s first name was Frank, but I can’t remember the last name or the rank.
I watched that show for perhaps the first 2 seasons, and then it got stupid. Even though I am a woman, I have watched such shows for the police/detective stories, but the writers had to take it into the personal lives of the characters. Blech!
The same thing was done to another show that I watched for a season or 2, “Homicide: Life on the Streets” (pretty sure that was the name).
There are very, very few TV series that I will invest time in, especially now with so much trash and leftist propaganda.
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