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{{Short description|English clarinetist and vocalist (1929–2014)}} |
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{{recent death|Bill, Acker}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}} |
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{{Infobox musical artist |
{{Infobox musical artist |
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| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} |
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| name = Acker Bilk |
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| name = Acker Bilk |
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| image = Acker bilk.jpg |
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| caption = |
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| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist <!-- includes instrumentalists who sometimes do vocals --> |
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| birth_name |
| birth_name = Bernard Stanley Bilk |
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| alias |
| alias = |
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| birth_date |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|1|28|df=yes}} |
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| birth_place |
| birth_place = [[Pensford]], [[Somerset]], England |
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| death_date |
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|11|2|1929|1|28|df=yes}} |
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| death_place = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], Somerset, England |
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| instrument = Clarinet |
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| genre = [[Easy listening]], [[traditional jazz]] |
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| genre = [[Trad jazz]], [[Easy listening]]{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} |
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| occupation = Clarinettist, vocalist |
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| occupation = Musician |
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| years_active = 1954–2013 |
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| label = [[Atco Records|Atco]], [[EMI]], [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]], [[Castle Records|Castle]], [[Philips Records|Philips]], [[Stomp Off Records|Stomp Off]], [[GNP Records|GNP]], [[Lake Records|Lake]] |
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| label = [[Atco Records|Atco]], [[EMI]], [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]], [[Castle Communications|Castle]], [[Philips Records|Philips]], [[Stomp Off]], [[GNP Records|GNP]], [[Fellside Records|Lake]] |
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| website = {{URL|http://www.ackersmusicagency.co.uk/|Official website}} |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk''' |
'''Bernard Stanley''' "'''Acker'''" '''Bilk''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) 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. |
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Bilk's [[1961]] instrumental tune "[[Stranger on the Shore]]" became the UK's biggest selling single of [[1962]]. It spent more than 50 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number two, and was the second No. 1 single in the United States by a British artist.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.regentcentre.co.uk/event/mr-acker-bilk-paramount-jazz-band |title=Mr. Acker Bilk & the Paramount Jazz Band |publisher=Regent Centre |access-date=3 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226135516/http://www.regentcentre.co.uk/event/mr-acker-bilk-paramount-jazz-band |archive-date=26 December 2008 }}</ref> In [[CHUM Chart|Canada]] it was number 4 for 4 weeks before peaking at number 3.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/62-05-14-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - May 14, 1962}}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Bilk was born in [[Pensford]], Somerset in 1929.<ref name="AMG"/> earned the nickname Acker from the |
Bilk was born in [[Pensford]], [[Somerset]], in 1929.<ref name="AMG"/>He earned the nickname "Acker" from the Somerset slang for "friend"or"mate".{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} His parents tried to teach him the piano but, as a boy, Bilk found it restricted his love of outdoor activities, including [[Association football|football]]. He lost two front teeth in a school fight and half a finger in a [[sled]]ging accident, both of which he said affected his eventual clarinet style.<ref name=Bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.ackersmusicagency.co.uk/biography.htm|title=Biography|publisher=Ackers Music Agency|access-date=3 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215165643/http://www.ackersmusicagency.co.uk/biography.htm|archive-date=15 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> |
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On leaving school Bilk joined the workforce of [[W.D. & H.O. Wills]]'s cigarette factory in [[Bristol]]; he stayed there for three years, putting tobacco in the cooling room and then pushing tobacco through a blower.<ref name=TiB80/> He then undertook three years of [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]] with the [[Royal Engineers]] in the [[Suez Canal]] Zone. He learned the clarinet there after his [[sapper]] friend, John A. Britten, gave him one bought at a bazaar and for which Britten had no use. The clarinet had no reed, so Britten fashioned a makeshift one for the instrument from scrap wood.<ref name="45rpm">{{cite web|url=http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dira/ackerb.htm|title=Acker Bilk|publisher=45rpm|access-date=3 April 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090504140434/http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dira/ackerb.htm| archive-date= 4 May 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Bilk later borrowed a better instrument from the [[British Army|army]] and kept it after demobilisation.<ref name=Bio/> After National Service, Bilk joined his uncle's [[blacksmith]] business and qualified in the trade.<ref name=TiB80/> |
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On leaving school he joined the workforce of [[W.D. & H.O. Wills]]'s cigarette factory in [[Bristol]], staying there for three years putting tobacco in the cooling room, and then pushing tobacco through a blower.<ref name=TiB80/> |
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He then undertook his three years [[national service]] with the [[Royal Engineers]] in the [[Suez Canal Zone]]. Bilk learnt the clarinet there after his [[sapper]] friend John A. Britten gave him one that he had bought at a [[bazaar]] and had no use for. The clarinet had no reed and Britten fashioned a makeshift reed for the instrument out of some scrap wood.<ref name="45rpm">{{cite web|url=http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dira/ackerb.htm|title=Acker Bilk|publisher=45rpm|accessdate=3 April 2009| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090504140434/http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dira/ackerb.htm| archivedate= 4 May 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> He then borrowed a better instrument from the Army, which he kept with him on [[demobilisation]].<ref name=Bio/> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Bilk played with friends on the Bristol jazz circuit and in 1951 moved to London to play with [[Ken Colyer]]'s band.<ref name=Bio/> Bilk disliked London, so returned west and formed his own band in Pensford called the [[Chew Valley]] Jazzmen, which was renamed the Bristol Paramount Jazz Band when they moved to London in 1951. Their agent then booked them for a six-week gig in [[Düsseldorf]], Germany, playing in a beer bar seven hours a night, seven nights a week.<ref name=TiB80/> During this time, Bilk and the band developed their distinctive style and appearance, complete with striped waistcoats and [[bowler hat]]s.<ref name=TiB80/> |
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On return home, he joined his uncle's [[blacksmith]] business, and qualified in the trade.<ref name=TiB80/> |
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After returning from Germany, Bilk became based in [[Plaistow, Newham|Plaistow]], London, and his band played in London jazz clubs.<ref name=Bio/> It was from here that Bilk became part of the boom in [[trad jazz]] in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. In 1960, their single "Summer Set" (a pun on their home county), co-written by Bilk and pianist Dave Collett, reached number five on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness British Hit Singles| first1=Dave |last1=Roberts| page=65| year=2009| publisher=Guinness Superlatives}}</ref> and began a run of 11 chart hit singles. ("Summer Set" was also used prominently in [[Daniel Farson]]'s controversial 1960 television documentary ''Living for Kicks'', a portrait of British teenage life at the time).<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nvA1MSk3K2A Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130814165947/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvA1MSk3K2A&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvA1MSk3K2A|title=Living For Kicks 1960|access-date=25 July 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1961 "Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band" appeared at the [[Royal Variety Performance]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1741583/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_11|title=The Royal Variety Performance 1961 (TV Movie 1961)|date=12 November 1961|website=IMDb.com|access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> |
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During the evenings he would play with friends on the Bristol jazz circuit. In 1951 he moved to London to play with [[Ken Colyer]]'s band.<ref name=Bio/> But hating London, he returned west and formed his own band in Pensford called the [[Chew Valley]] Jazzmen, which was renamed the '''Bristol Paramount Jazz Band''' when they moved to London in 1951. Their agent then got them a six-month gig in [[Düsseldorf]], Germany, playing a beer bar seven hours a night, seven nights a week where Bilk and the band developed their distinctive style and appearance, complete with striped-[[waistcoats]] and [[bowler hat]]s.<ref name=TiB80/> |
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Bilk was not an internationally known musician until 1962, when the experimental use of a string ensemble on one of his albums and the inclusion of a composition of his own as its keynote piece won him an audience outside the UK. He had composed a melody, entitled "Jenny" after his daughter, but was asked to change the title to "[[Stranger on the Shore]]" for use in a British television series of the same name. He went on to record it as the title track of a new album in which his deep and quavering clarinet was backed by the [[Leon Young (musician)|Leon Young]] String Chorale.<ref>Godbolt, Jim. ''A History of Jazz in Britain, 1950 – 70.'' London: Quartet, (1989), {{ISBN|0-7043-2526-8}}</ref> |
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On return and now based in [[Plaistow, Newham|Plaistow]], London, the band played the London jazz club scene.<ref name=Bio/> It was from here that Bilk became part of the boom in [[traditional jazz]] that swept the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. In 1960, their single "Summer Set" (a pun on their home county), co-written by Bilk and pianist Dave Collett, reached number five in the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness British Hit Singles| first1=Dave |last1=Roberts| page=65| year=2009| publisher=Guinness Superlatives}}</ref> and began a run of eleven chart [[hit single]]s. |
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The single was not only a big hit in the United Kingdom, where it stayed on the charts for 55 weeks, helped by Bilk being the subject of the TV show ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'', but also topped the American charts.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Richard S. Ginell |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/acker-bilk-mn0000926115/biography |title=Acker Bilk | Biography |website=AllMusic |date=28 January 1929 |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> As a result, Bilk was the second British artist to have a single in the number-one position on the ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]'' Hot 100 singles chart.<ref name="auto"/> ([[Vera Lynn]] was the first, with "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" in 1952.) "Stranger on the Shore" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book |
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| first= Joseph |
| first= Joseph |
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| last= Murrells |
| last= Murrells |
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| Line 43: | Line 42: | ||
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd |
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd |
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| location= London |
| location= London |
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| pages= 131–132 |
| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/131 131–132] |
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| isbn= 0-214-20512-6 |
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| isbn= 0-214-20512-6}}</ref> The album was also highlighted by a striking interpretation of [[Bunny Berigan]]'s legendary hit "I Can't Get Started." At one point, at the height of his career, Bilk's [[public relations]] workers were known as the "Bilk Marketing Board", a pun/play on the then [[Milk Marketing Board]]. |
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| url-access= registration |
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| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/131 |
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}}</ref> At the height of his career, Bilk's public relations workers were known as the "Bilk Marketing Board", a pun on the [[Milk Marketing Board]]. |
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At the height of his international fame in 1962, he appeared in two theatrical motion pictures. ''[[It's Trad, Dad!]]'' (released in the United States by [[Columbia Pictures]] as ''Ring-a-Ding Rhythm'') was a [[Richard Lester]] musical combining dixieland and rock-and-roll specialties; "Mr. Acker Bilk" and his band were the best represented, with three songs and a speaking role for Bilk. The second picture, ''Band of Thieves'', was a comedy starring "Mr. Acker Bilk" and his group as musicians in prison. His music was also heard on the soundtracks to films such as ''[[Bitter Harvest (1963 film)|Bitter Harvest]]'' (1963), ''[[West 11]]'' (1963), and the musical comedy ''[[It's All Over Town]]'' (1964). He also played a cameo role in the latter film. |
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In January 1963, the British music magazine, ''[[NME]]'' reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at [[Alexandra Palace]]. The event included [[George Melly]], [[Diz Disley]], [[Alex Welsh]], [[Chris Barber]], [[Kenny Ball]], [[Ken Colyer]], [[Monty Sunshine]], [[Bob Wallis]], [[Bruce Turner]], [[Mick Mulligan]] and Bilk.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book |
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| first= John |
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| last= Tobler |
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| year= 1992 |
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| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years |
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| edition= 1st |
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| publisher= Reed International Books Ltd |
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| location= London |
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| page= 116 |
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| id= CN 5585}}</ref> Bilk recorded a series of albums in Britain that were also released successfully in the United States (on the [[Atlantic Records]] subsidiary [[Atco Records|Atco]]), including a memorable collaboration (''Together'') with [[Denmark|Danish]] jazz pianist-composer [[Bent Fabricius-Bjerre|Bent Fabric]] ("The Alley Cat"). But his success tapered off when British rock and roll made its big international explosion beginning in 1964, and Bilk shifted direction to the cabaret circuit. He finally had another chart success in 1976, with "Aria," which went to number five in the United Kingdom. In May 1977, Bilk & His Paramount Jazz Band provided the interval act for the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1977|Eurovision Song Contest]].<ref>O'Connor, John Kennedy. ''The Eurovision Song Contest — The Official History''. 2010 Carlton Books, UK. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1</ref> His last chart appearance was in 1978 when the TV promoted album released on Pye/Warwick "Evergreen" reached 17 in a 14-week album chart run. In the early 1980s, Bilk and his signature hit were newly familiar, thanks to "Stranger on the Shore" being used in the soundtrack to ''[[Sweet Dreams (1985 film)|Sweet Dreams]]'', the film biography of country music legend [[Patsy Cline]]. The tune "Aria" featured as a central musical motif in the 2012 Polish film, ''Mój rower''. Most of his classic albums with the Paramount Jazz Band have been reissued and are available on the UK based [[Lake Records]] label. |
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Bilk's success tapered off when [[British Invasion|British rock and roll]] made its big international impact beginning in 1964 and he shifted direction to the cabaret circuit. However, he did record a series of well-regarded albums in the mid-1960s. Three of them, including the 1965 collaboration ''Together'', with the Danish jazz pianist and composer [[Bent Fabric]] ("[[Alley Cat (song)|Alley Cat]]"), were also released successfully in the United States on the [[Atlantic Records]] subsidiary [[Atco Records|Atco]]. In 1968 the album ''Blue Acker'', produced by [[Denis Preston]] and with arrangements by [[Stan Tracey]], illustrated that Bilk remained highly regarded as a musician, even by those (like Tracey) on the "modern jazz" side of things. Duncan Heining rates it as "one of the highlights of British jazz of the period".<ref>Heining, Duncan. ''[https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/trad-dads/ Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneers: British Jazz, 1960-1975]'', (2012), p.23</ref> |
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Bilk has been described as "Great Master of the Clarinet".<ref>{{cite web|title=Acker Bilk|url=http://www.storyvillerecords.com/artists/acker-bilk|publisher=Storyville|accessdate=21 April 2014}}</ref> His clarinet sound and style was at least as singular as had been those of American jazzmen such as [[Benny Goodman]], [[Artie Shaw]] and [[Russell Procope]], and "Stranger on the Shore" – which he was once quoted as calling "my old-age pension" – remains a standard of jazz and popular music alike. |
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Bilk finally had another chart success in 1976 with "Aria", which went to number five in the United Kingdom. In May 1977 Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band provided the interval act for the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1977|Eurovision Song Contest]].<ref>O'Connor, John Kennedy. ''The Eurovision Song Contest — The Official History''. 2010 Carlton Books, UK. {{ISBN|978-1-84732-521-1}}</ref> His last chart appearance was in 1978, when the TV-promoted album released on [[Pye Records|Pye]]/[[Warwick Records (United Kingdom)|Warwick]], ''Evergreen'', reached 17 in a 14-week album chart run. In the early 1980s, Bilk and his signature hit were newly familiar, due to "Stranger on the Shore" being used in the soundtrack to ''[[Sweet Dreams (1985 film)|Sweet Dreams]]'', the film biography of country music singer [[Patsy Cline]]. "Aria" featured as a central musical motif in the 2012 [[Cinema of Poland|Polish film]] ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Mój rower|pl}}''. |
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Acker Bilk continued to tour with his Paramount Jazz Band, as well as performing concerts with his two contemporaries, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball (deceased) (both of whom were born in 1930) as the 3Bs. |
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Bilk continued to tour with his Paramount Jazz Band, as well as performing concerts with his two contemporaries, [[Chris Barber]] and [[Kenny Ball]], both of whom were born in 1930, as "The 3Bs". Bilk also provided vocals on many of his tracks, including on "I'm an Old Cowhand", "The Folks Who Live on the Hill", "White Cliffs of Dover", "Travellin On" and "That's My Home". |
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One of his recordings is with the Chris Barber band, sharing the clarinet spot with the band's regular reedsmen, [[John Crocker (jazz musician)|John Crocker]] and Ian Wheeler. He made a CD with another legend of British Jazz [[Wally Fawkes]] for the [[Lake Records]] label in 2002. He has appeared on three recent albums by [[Van Morrison]], ''[[Down the Road (Van Morrison album)|Down the Road]]'', ''[[What's Wrong with This Picture? (Van Morrison album)|What's Wrong With This Picture?]]'', and ''[[Born to Sing: No Plan B]]''. |
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He was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in 2001 and in 2005 he was awarded the [[BBC Jazz Awards]]' "Gold Award". One of his recordings was with the Chris Barber band, sharing the clarinet spot with the band's regular reedsmen, [[John Crocker (jazz musician)|John Crocker]] and Ian Wheeler. Bilk made a CD with [[Wally Fawkes]] for the [[Fellside Recordings|Lake label]] in 2002. He appeared on three albums by [[Van Morrison]]: ''[[Down the Road (Van Morrison album)|Down the Road]]''; ''[[What's Wrong with This Picture? (Van Morrison album)|What's Wrong With This Picture?]]''; and ''[[Born to Sing: No Plan B]]''. In 2012 Bilk said that, after 50 years, he was "fed up" with playing his most famous tune, "Stranger on the Shore".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-17003360|title=BBC News - Acker Bilk 'fed up' with Stranger on the Shore|work=BBC News|date=13 February 2012 |access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> |
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Bilk died in Bath, Somerset, on 2 November 2014, at the age of 85.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|last=Leigh|first=Spencer|title=Acker Bilk: Clarinettist and bandleader who became best known for his sweetly melancholic 'Stranger on the Shore'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/acker-bilk-clarinettist-and-bandleader-who-became-best-known-for-his-sweetly-melancholic-stranger-on-the-shore-9836623.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220506/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/acker-bilk-clarinettist-and-bandleader-who-became-best-known-for-his-sweetly-melancholic-stranger-on-the-shore-9836623.html |archive-date=6 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=4 November 2014|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=4 November 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He was survived by his wife and two children.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jazz legend Acker Bilk dies aged 85|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29874053|access-date=2 November 2014|agency=BBC News|date=2 November 2014}}</ref> Bilk's last recorded interview was for Cornish community station [[Coast FM (West Cornwall)|Penwith Radio (now Coast FM)]] and was broadcast posthumously on Sunday 16 November 2014 at 9:00 pm.<ref>{{cite web|title=Penwith Radio airs final interview with jazz great Acker Bilk|url=http://www.cornishman.co.uk/Penwith-Radio-airs-final-interview-jazz-great/story-24514718-detail/story.html|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210608/http://www.cornishman.co.uk/Penwith-Radio-airs-final-interview-jazz-great/story-24514718-detail/story.html|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Bilk married his childhood sweetheart Jean, whom he met in the same class. The couple had two children |
In 1954 Bilk married his childhood sweetheart, Jean Hawkins,<ref name=independent/> whom he met in the same class at school.<ref>{{cite web |title=acker bilk and jean bilk |url=https://www.famousfix.com/topic/acker-bilk-and-jean-bilk}}</ref> The couple had two children, Jenny and Pete. After living near London in [[Potters Bar]] for many years, the couple retired to [[Pensford]].<ref name=TiB80/> |
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In 1997, Bilk was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was treated through surgery and then followed by daily radiation therapy at [[University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust|Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre]]. Subsequently, he had eight [[Laparoscopy|keyhole operations]] for bladder cancer and suffered a minor stroke.<ref name=TiB80>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Acker-Bilk-marks-80th-birthday/story-11292246-detail/story.html#ixzz2MstqrjKV|title=Acker Bilk marks 80th birthday|publisher=ThisIsBristol.co.uk|date=28 January 2009|access-date=7 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229094746/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Acker-Bilk-marks-80th-birthday/story-11292246-detail/story.html#ixzz2MstqrjKV|archive-date=29 December 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> |
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==Other interests== |
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In 2000, Bilk was diagnosed with throat cancer, which treated through surgery was then followed by daily [[radiotherapy]] at [[Bristol Haemotology and Oncology Centre]]. Subsequently he had had eight keyhole operations for [[bladder cancer]], and suffered a mini stroke.<ref name=TiB80>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Acker-Bilk-marks-80th-birthday/story-11292246-detail/story.html#ixzz2MstqrjKV|title=Acker Bilk marks 80th birthday|publisher=ThisIsBristol.co.uk|date=28 January 2009|accessdate=7 March 2013}}</ref> |
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Bilk was part of a consortium which took over the [[Oxford Cheetahs]] [[Motorcycle speedway|speedway]] team in 1972. They were rebranded as Oxford Rebels as part of the takeover.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.speedwayplus.com/SveinKaasa.shtml|title=Svein Kasa|website=Speedway Plus|access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref><ref>Bamford,R & Shailes,G (2007). “The Story of Oxford Speedway”. {{ISBN|978-0-7524-4161-0}}</ref> |
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== |
==Legacy== |
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Bilk has been described as the "Great Master of the Clarinet".<ref>{{cite web|title=Acker Bilk|url=http://www.storyvillerecords.com/artists/acker-bilk|publisher=Storyville|access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref> "Stranger on the Shore" – which he was once quoted as calling "my old-age pension" – remains a standard of jazz and popular music alike.<ref>{{Cite book|title = All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music|editor-last = Bogdanov|editor-first = Vladimir|publisher = AMG|year = 2002|location = San Francisco|pages = 110}}</ref> |
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He died on 2 November 2014 at the age of 85.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jazz legend Acker Bilk dies aged 85|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29874053|accessdate=2 November 2014|agency=BBC News|date=2 November 2014}}</ref> |
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== Discography == |
== Discography == |
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! Released |
! Released |
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! Album |
! Album |
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! [[UK Albums Chart|UK Charts]]<ref> |
! [[UK Albums Chart|UK Charts]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/mr%20acker%20bilk/|title=Official UK Charts - Acker Bilk|publisher=Officialcharts.com|access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> |
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! Label |
! Label |
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|- |
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|align="center"| 17 |
|align="center"| 17 |
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| Columbia |
| Columbia |
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|- |
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|1965 |
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| ''Together'' <small>(with [[Bent Fabric]])</small> |
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|align="center"| 17 |
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| Atco |
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|- |
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|1966 |
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| ''Mood For Love'' |
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|align="center"| - |
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| Atco |
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|- |
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|1966 |
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|''Mr Acker Bilk in Paris (with the Leon Young String Chorale)'' |
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| |
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|Atco |
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|- |
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|1967 |
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|''London Is My Cup of Tea'' |
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| |
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|Atco |
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|- |
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|1968 |
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| ''Blue Acker'' |
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|align="center"| - |
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| Columbia, Lake LACD218 |
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|- |
|- |
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| 1976 |
| 1976 |
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| ''The One |
| ''The One For Me'' |
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|align="center"| 38 |
|align="center"| 38 |
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| Pye |
| Pye |
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|- |
|- |
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! Released |
! Released |
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! EP<ref name=45cat> |
! EP<ref name=45cat>{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/artist/acker-bilk/uk|title=45cat - Acker Bilk discography|publisher=45cat.com|access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> |
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! [[UK Singles Chart|UK Charts]]<ref name=Charts> |
! [[UK Singles Chart|UK Charts]]<ref name=Charts>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/mr%20acker%20bilk%20%26%20his%20paramount%20jazz%20band/|title=Official UK Charts - Acker Bilk|publisher=Officialcharts/com|access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> |
||
! Label |
! Label |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| 1958 |
| 1958 |
||
| ''Mr Acker Bilk Marches On'' |
| ''Mr. Acker Bilk Marches On'' |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| rowspan="2"|[[Pye Records|Pye]] |
| rowspan="2"|[[Pye Records|Pye]] |
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| Line 153: | Line 178: | ||
| ''Master Acker Bilk'' |
| ''Master Acker Bilk'' |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| [[Esquire Records|Esquire]] |
| [[Esquire Records (UK)|Esquire]] |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| ''Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 1'' |
| ''Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 1'' |
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| Line 159: | Line 184: | ||
| [[Melodisc Records|Melodisc]] |
| [[Melodisc Records|Melodisc]] |
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|- |
|- |
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| ''Mr Acker Bilk Requests - Part 1'' |
| ''Mr. Acker Bilk Requests - Part 1'' |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| Pye |
| Pye |
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| Line 167: | Line 192: | ||
| [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] |
| [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] |
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|- |
|- |
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| ''Mr Acker Bilk Requests - Part 2'' |
| ''Mr. Acker Bilk Requests - Part 2'' |
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|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| Pye |
| Pye |
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| Line 212: | Line 237: | ||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
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|- |
|- |
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| ''Mr Acker Bilk's Lansdowne Folio - Volume 1'' |
| ''Mr. Acker Bilk's Lansdowne Folio - Volume 1'' |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
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|- |
|- |
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| Line 241: | Line 266: | ||
! Released |
! Released |
||
! Single<ref name="45cat" /> |
! Single<ref name="45cat" /> |
||
! [[UK Singles Chart|UK |
! [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br><ref name="Charts" /> |
||
! [[Billboard (magazine)|US]]<br><ref>''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}</ref> |
|||
! Label |
! Label |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| 1956 |
| 1956 |
||
| "[[Dippermouth Blues]]" |
| "[[Dippermouth Blues]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| [[Tempo Records (UK)|Tempo]] |
| [[Tempo Records (UK)|Tempo]] |
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| Line 252: | Line 279: | ||
| "Summer Set" |
| "Summer Set" |
||
|align="center"| 5 |
|align="center"| 5 |
||
|align="center"| 104 |
|||
| [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] |
| [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[Marching Through Georgia]]" |
| "[[Marching Through Georgia]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| [[Pye Records|Pye]] |
| [[Pye Records|Pye]] |
||
| Line 260: | Line 289: | ||
| "[[(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover|White Cliffs of Dover]]" |
| "[[(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover|White Cliffs of Dover]]" |
||
|align="center"| 30 |
|align="center"| 30 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
| Columbia |
| Columbia |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "C.R.E. March" |
| "C.R.E. March" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
| rowspan="6"|Pye |
| rowspan="6"|Pye |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Blaze Away" |
| "Blaze Away" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[Under the Double Eagle]]" |
| "[[Under the Double Eagle]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "El Abanico" |
| "El Abanico" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[Dardanella]]" |
| "[[Dardanella]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|align="center"| 105 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Gladiolus Rag" |
| "Gladiolus Rag" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Buona Sera" |
| "Buona Sera" |
||
|align="center"| 7 |
|align="center"| 7 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
| rowspan="21"|Columbia |
|||
| rowspan="21"|Columbia/[[Atco Records|Atco]] |
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|- |
|- |
||
| rowspan="4"|1961 |
| rowspan="4"|1961 |
||
| "Sweet Elizabeth" |
| "Sweet Elizabeth" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "That's My Home" |
| "That's My Home" |
||
|align="center"| 7 |
|align="center"| 7 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[Stars and Stripes Forever]]" |
| "[[The Stars and Stripes Forever]]" |
||
|align="center"| 22 |
|align="center"| 22 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[Stranger on the Shore]]" |
| "[[Stranger on the Shore]]" |
||
|align="center"| 2 |
|align="center"| 2 |
||
|align="center"| 1 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| rowspan=" |
| rowspan="5"|1962 |
||
| "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]]" |
| "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]]" |
||
|align="center"| 42 |
|align="center"| 42 |
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| Line 304: | Line 345: | ||
| "Gotta See Baby Tonight" |
| "Gotta See Baby Tonight" |
||
|align="center"| 24 |
|align="center"| 24 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|||
| "Above the Stars" |
|||
|align="center"| – |
|||
|align="center"| 59 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Lonely" |
| "Lonely" |
||
|align="center"| 14 |
|align="center"| 14 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|||
| "Limelight" |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| 92 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|rowspan=" |
|rowspan="5"|1963 |
||
| "[[A Taste of Honey (song)|A Taste of Honey]]" |
| "[[A Taste of Honey (song)|A Taste of Honey]]" |
||
|align="center"| 16 |
|align="center"| 16 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|||
| "[[Only You (And You Alone)]]" |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| 77 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Manana Pasado Manana" |
| "Manana Pasado Manana" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Moonlight Tango" |
| "Moonlight Tango" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "The Harem" |
| "The Harem" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|align="center"| 125 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| rowspan="2"|1964 |
| rowspan="2"|1964 |
||
| "Bustamento" |
| "Bustamento" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Dream Ska" |
| "Dream Ska" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1965 |
|1965 |
||
| "[[Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)|Mona Lisa]]" |
| "[[Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)|Mona Lisa]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|rowspan="2"|1966 |
|rowspan="2"|1966 |
||
| "[[Petite Fleur]]" |
| "[[Petite Fleur]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "La Playa" |
| "La Playa" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1967 |
|1967 |
||
| "The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair" |
| "The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1969 |
|1969 |
||
| "When I'm Away" |
| "When I'm Away" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1970 |
|1970 |
||
| "Thomas O'Malley Cat" |
| "Thomas O'Malley Cat" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1971 |
|1971 |
||
| "Irish Lullaby" |
| "Irish Lullaby" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1972 |
|1972 |
||
| "Burgundy Street" |
| "Burgundy Street" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|rowspan="13"|Pye |
|rowspan="13"|Pye |
||
| Line 362: | Line 431: | ||
|1974 |
|1974 |
||
| "When I See You Smile Again" |
| "When I See You Smile Again" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1975 |
|1975 |
||
| "Canios Tune" |
| "Canios Tune" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|rowspan="4"|1976 |
|rowspan="4"|1976 |
||
| "Homecoming" |
| "Homecoming" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Good Morning" |
| "Good Morning" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Aria" |
| "Aria" |
||
|align="center"| 5 |
|align="center"| 5 |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Incontro" |
| "Incontro" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|rowspan="2"|1977 |
|rowspan="2"|1977 |
||
| "Love Theme" |
| "[[(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story|Love Theme]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Dancing in the Dark" |
| "Dancing in the Dark" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|rowspan="3"|1978 |
|rowspan="3"|1978 |
||
| "Universe" |
| "Universe" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Mister Men Theme" |
| "Mister Men Theme" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Theme from The Incredible Hulk" |
| "Theme from The Incredible Hulk" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|1979 |
|1979 |
||
| "Aranjuez Mon Amour" |
| "Aranjuez Mon Amour" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Line 405: | Line 486: | ||
| "[[Song for Guy]]" |
| "[[Song for Guy]]" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|rowspan="5"|[[Piccadilly Records|Piccadilly]] |
|||
|rowspan="5"|[[Pye Records#Piccadilly and Dawn labels|Piccadilly]] |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
| "[[I Like Beer]]" <small>(with [[Max Bygraves]])</small> |
| "[[I Like Beer]]" <small>(with [[Max Bygraves]])</small> |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "You Say Something Nice About Everybody" |
| "You Say Something Nice About Everybody" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "Verde" |
| "Verde" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| "On Sunday" |
| "On Sunday" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Line 422: | Line 508: | ||
| "Find a Way" |
| "Find a Way" |
||
|align="center"| — |
|align="center"| — |
||
|align="center"| — |
|||
| [[PRT Records|PRT]] |
|||
| [[Pye Records|PRT]] |
|||
|} |
|} |
||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
*[[West Country dialects]] |
*[[West Country dialects]] |
||
*[[Django Reinhardt]], another influential jazz musician |
*[[Django Reinhardt]], another influential jazz musician with finger-damage who was still able to become a virtuoso on his instrument |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
| Line 433: | Line 520: | ||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
*[ |
*[https://www.ackerbilk.org Official site] |
||
*[http://www.bigredbook.info/acker_bilk.html Acker Bilk recalls his appearance on ''This Is Your Life''] |
|||
*[http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pace/graduation/honorary-degrees/hondeg05/bilk.html On being appointed an honorary Master of Arts at Bristol University] |
*[http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pace/graduation/honorary-degrees/hondeg05/bilk.html On being appointed an honorary Master of Arts at Bristol University] |
||
{{Clarinet}} |
|||
{{Jazz}} |
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{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960–1979}} |
{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960–1979}} |
||
{{Authority control |
{{Authority control}} |
||
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
|||
|NAME =Bilk, Acker |
|||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
|||
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = Musician |
|||
|DATE OF BIRTH = 28 January 1929 |
|||
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Pensford]], Somerset, England |
|||
|DATE OF DEATH = 2 November 2014 |
|||
|PLACE OF DEATH = |
|||
}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilk, Acker}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilk, Acker}} |
||
[[Category:1929 births]] |
[[Category:1929 births]] |
||
[[Category:2014 deaths]] |
[[Category:2014 deaths]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Military personnel from Somerset]] |
||
[[Category:Royal Engineers soldiers]] |
[[Category:Royal Engineers soldiers]] |
||
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]] |
|||
[[Category:Musicians from Somerset]] |
[[Category:Musicians from Somerset]] |
||
[[Category:People from Bath and North East Somerset]] |
|||
[[Category:British expatriates in Germany]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century British male musicians]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century clarinetists]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century British musicians]] |
|||
[[Category:21st-century British male musicians]] |
|||
[[Category:21st-century clarinetists]] |
|||
[[Category:21st-century British musicians]] |
|||
[[Category:Atco Records artists]] |
|||
[[Category:English blacksmiths]] |
|||
[[Category:Dixieland clarinetists]] |
[[Category:Dixieland clarinetists]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:British jazz clarinetists]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:British jazz musicians]] |
||
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]] |
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Stomp Off artists]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Marble Arch Records artists]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Pye Records artists]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]] |
||
Acker Bilk
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bernard Stanley Bilk |
| Born | (1929-01-28)28 January 1929 Pensford, Somerset, England |
| Died | 2 November 2014(2014-11-02) (aged 85) Bath, Somerset, England |
| Genres | Trad jazz, Easy listening[citation needed] |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Clarinet |
| Years active | 1954–2013 |
| Labels | Atco, EMI, Columbia, Castle, Philips, Stomp Off, GNP, Lake |
Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, MBE (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) 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.
Bilk's 1961 instrumental tune "Stranger on the Shore" became the UK's biggest selling single of 1962. It spent more than 50 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number two, and was the second No. 1 single in the United States by a British artist.[1]InCanada it was number 4 for 4 weeks before peaking at number 3.[2]
Bilk was born in Pensford, Somerset, in 1929.[3] He earned the nickname "Acker" from the Somerset slang for "friend" or "mate".[citation needed] His parents tried to teach him the piano but, as a boy, Bilk found it restricted his love of outdoor activities, including football. He lost two front teeth in a school fight and half a finger in a sledging accident, both of which he said affected his eventual clarinet style.[4]
On leaving school Bilk joined the workforce of W.D. & H.O. Wills's cigarette factory in Bristol; he stayed there for three years, putting tobacco in the cooling room and then pushing tobacco through a blower.[5] He then undertook three years of National Service with the Royal Engineers in the Suez Canal Zone. He learned the clarinet there after his sapper friend, John A. Britten, gave him one bought at a bazaar and for which Britten had no use. The clarinet had no reed, so Britten fashioned a makeshift one for the instrument from scrap wood.[6] Bilk later borrowed a better instrument from the army and kept it after demobilisation.[4] After National Service, Bilk joined his uncle's blacksmith business and qualified in the trade.[5]
Bilk played with friends on the Bristol jazz circuit and in 1951 moved to London to play with Ken Colyer's band.[4] Bilk disliked London, so returned west and formed his own band in Pensford called the Chew Valley Jazzmen, which was renamed the Bristol Paramount Jazz Band when they moved to London in 1951. Their agent then booked them for a six-week gig in Düsseldorf, Germany, playing in a beer bar seven hours a night, seven nights a week.[5] During this time, Bilk and the band developed their distinctive style and appearance, complete with striped waistcoats and bowler hats.[5]
After returning from Germany, Bilk became based in Plaistow, London, and his band played in London jazz clubs.[4] It was from here that Bilk became part of the boom in trad jazz in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. In 1960, their single "Summer Set" (a pun on their home county), co-written by Bilk and pianist Dave Collett, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart,[7] and began a run of 11 chart hit singles. ("Summer Set" was also used prominently in Daniel Farson's controversial 1960 television documentary Living for Kicks, a portrait of British teenage life at the time).[8] In 1961 "Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band" appeared at the Royal Variety Performance.[9]
Bilk was not an internationally known musician until 1962, when the experimental use of a string ensemble on one of his albums and the inclusion of a composition of his own as its keynote piece won him an audience outside the UK. He had composed a melody, entitled "Jenny" after his daughter, but was asked to change the title to "Stranger on the Shore" for use in a British television series of the same name. He went on to record it as the title track of a new album in which his deep and quavering clarinet was backed by the Leon Young String Chorale.[10]
The single was not only a big hit in the United Kingdom, where it stayed on the charts for 55 weeks, helped by Bilk being the subject of the TV show This Is Your Life, but also topped the American charts.[3] As a result, Bilk was the second British artist to have a single in the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[1] (Vera Lynn was the first, with "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" in 1952.) "Stranger on the Shore" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[11] At the height of his career, Bilk's public relations workers were known as the "Bilk Marketing Board", a pun on the Milk Marketing Board.
At the height of his international fame in 1962, he appeared in two theatrical motion pictures. It's Trad, Dad! (released in the United States by Columbia PicturesasRing-a-Ding Rhythm) was a Richard Lester musical combining dixieland and rock-and-roll specialties; "Mr. Acker Bilk" and his band were the best represented, with three songs and a speaking role for Bilk. The second picture, Band of Thieves, was a comedy starring "Mr. Acker Bilk" and his group as musicians in prison. His music was also heard on the soundtracks to films such as Bitter Harvest (1963), West 11 (1963), and the musical comedy It's All Over Town (1964). He also played a cameo role in the latter film.
Bilk's success tapered off when British rock and roll made its big international impact beginning in 1964 and he shifted direction to the cabaret circuit. However, he did record a series of well-regarded albums in the mid-1960s. Three of them, including the 1965 collaboration Together, with the Danish jazz pianist and composer Bent Fabric ("Alley Cat"), were also released successfully in the United States on the Atlantic Records subsidiary Atco. In 1968 the album Blue Acker, produced by Denis Preston and with arrangements by Stan Tracey, illustrated that Bilk remained highly regarded as a musician, even by those (like Tracey) on the "modern jazz" side of things. Duncan Heining rates it as "one of the highlights of British jazz of the period".[12]
Bilk finally had another chart success in 1976 with "Aria", which went to number five in the United Kingdom. In May 1977 Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band provided the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest.[13] His last chart appearance was in 1978, when the TV-promoted album released on Pye/Warwick, Evergreen, reached 17 in a 14-week album chart run. In the early 1980s, Bilk and his signature hit were newly familiar, due to "Stranger on the Shore" being used in the soundtrack to Sweet Dreams, the film biography of country music singer Patsy Cline. "Aria" featured as a central musical motif in the 2012 Polish film Mój rower [pl].
Bilk continued to tour with his Paramount Jazz Band, as well as performing concerts with his two contemporaries, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball, both of whom were born in 1930, as "The 3Bs". Bilk also provided vocals on many of his tracks, including on "I'm an Old Cowhand", "The Folks Who Live on the Hill", "White Cliffs of Dover", "Travellin On" and "That's My Home".
He was appointed MBE in 2001 and in 2005 he was awarded the BBC Jazz Awards' "Gold Award". One of his recordings was with the Chris Barber band, sharing the clarinet spot with the band's regular reedsmen, John Crocker and Ian Wheeler. Bilk made a CD with Wally Fawkes for the Lake label in 2002. He appeared on three albums by Van Morrison: Down the Road; What's Wrong With This Picture?; and Born to Sing: No Plan B. In 2012 Bilk said that, after 50 years, he was "fed up" with playing his most famous tune, "Stranger on the Shore".[14]
Bilk died in Bath, Somerset, on 2 November 2014, at the age of 85.[15] He was survived by his wife and two children.[16] Bilk's last recorded interview was for Cornish community station Penwith Radio (now Coast FM) and was broadcast posthumously on Sunday 16 November 2014 at 9:00 pm.[17]
In 1954 Bilk married his childhood sweetheart, Jean Hawkins,[15] whom he met in the same class at school.[18] The couple had two children, Jenny and Pete. After living near London in Potters Bar for many years, the couple retired to Pensford.[5]
In 1997, Bilk was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was treated through surgery and then followed by daily radiation therapy at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre. Subsequently, he had eight keyhole operations for bladder cancer and suffered a minor stroke.[5]
Bilk was part of a consortium which took over the Oxford Cheetahs speedway team in 1972. They were rebranded as Oxford Rebels as part of the takeover.[19][20]
Bilk has been described as the "Great Master of the Clarinet".[21] "Stranger on the Shore" – which he was once quoted as calling "my old-age pension" – remains a standard of jazz and popular music alike.[22]
| Released | Album | UK Charts[23] | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Seven Ages of Acker | 6 | Columbia |
| Omnibus | 14 | Pye | |
| 1961 | Acker | 17 | Columbia |
| Golden Treasury of Bilk | 11 | ||
| The Best of Barber and Bilk (with Chris Barber) | 4 | Pye | |
| The Best of Barber and Bilk Volume 2 (with Chris Barber) | 8 | ||
| 1962 | Stranger on the Shore | 6 | Columbia |
| The Best of Ball, Barber and Bilk (with Kenny Ball and Chris Barber) | 1 | Pye | |
| 1963 | A Taste of Honey | 17 | Columbia |
| 1965 | Together (with Bent Fabric) | 17 | Atco |
| 1966 | Mood For Love | - | Atco |
| 1966 | Mr Acker Bilk in Paris (with the Leon Young String Chorale) | Atco | |
| 1967 | London Is My Cup of Tea | Atco | |
| 1968 | Blue Acker | - | Columbia, Lake LACD218 |
| 1976 | The One For Me | 38 | Pye |
| 1977 | Sheer Magic | 5 | Warwick |
| 1978 | Evergreen | 17 |
| Released | EP[24] | UK Charts[25] | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Mr. Acker Bilk Marches On | — | Pye |
| 1959 | Mister Acker Bilk Sings | — | |
| Master Acker Bilk | — | Esquire | |
| Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 1 | — | Melodisc | |
| Mr. Acker Bilk Requests - Part 1 | — | Pye | |
| Acker's Away | — | Columbia | |
| Mr. Acker Bilk Requests - Part 2 | — | Pye | |
| 1960 | Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 2 | 50 | Melodisc |
| Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 3 | — | ||
| Mister Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band Volume 4 | — | ||
| The Seven Ages of Acker | — | Columbia | |
| The Seven Ages of Acker Volume 2 | — | ||
| Clarinet Jamboree Part 1 | — | ||
| 1961 | Acker Volume 1 | — | |
| Acker Volume 2 | — | ||
| 1962 | A Golden Treasury of Bilk 1 | — | |
| Four Hits and a Mister | — | ||
| A Golden Treasury of Bilk Volume 2 | — | ||
| Band of Thieves | — | ||
| Mr. Acker Bilk's Lansdowne Folio - Volume 1 | — | ||
| 1963 | Bilk and Bossa | — | |
| Four More Hits and a Mister | — | ||
| Manana | — | ||
| 1964 | Snag It | — | Arc |
| 1965 | Franklin Street Blues | — |
| Released | Single[24] | UK [25] |
US [26] |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | "Dippermouth Blues" | — | — | Tempo |
| 1960 | "Summer Set" | 5 | 104 | Columbia |
| "Marching Through Georgia" | — | — | Pye | |
| "White Cliffs of Dover" | 30 | — | Columbia | |
| "C.R.E. March" | — | — | Pye | |
| "Blaze Away" | — | — | ||
| "Under the Double Eagle" | — | — | ||
| "El Abanico" | — | — | ||
| "Dardanella" | — | 105 | ||
| "Gladiolus Rag" | — | — | ||
| "Buona Sera" | 7 | — | Columbia/Atco | |
| 1961 | "Sweet Elizabeth" | — | — | |
| "That's My Home" | 7 | — | ||
| "The Stars and Stripes Forever" | 22 | — | ||
| "Stranger on the Shore" | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1962 | "Frankie and Johnny" | 42 | ||
| "Gotta See Baby Tonight" | 24 | — | ||
| "Above the Stars" | – | 59 | ||
| "Lonely" | 14 | — | ||
| "Limelight" | — | 92 | ||
| 1963 | "A Taste of Honey" | 16 | — | |
| "Only You (And You Alone)" | — | 77 | ||
| "Manana Pasado Manana" | — | — | ||
| "Moonlight Tango" | — | — | ||
| "The Harem" | — | 125 | ||
| 1964 | "Bustamento" | — | — | |
| "Dream Ska" | — | — | ||
| 1965 | "Mona Lisa" | — | — | |
| 1966 | "Petite Fleur" | — | — | |
| "La Playa" | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair" | — | — | |
| 1969 | "When I'm Away" | — | — | |
| 1970 | "Thomas O'Malley Cat" | — | — | |
| 1971 | "Irish Lullaby" | — | — | |
| 1972 | "Burgundy Street" | — | — | Pye |
| 1974 | "When I See You Smile Again" | — | — | |
| 1975 | "Canios Tune" | — | — | |
| 1976 | "Homecoming" | — | — | |
| "Good Morning" | — | — | ||
| "Aria" | 5 | — | ||
| "Incontro" | — | — | ||
| 1977 | "Love Theme" | — | — | |
| "Dancing in the Dark" | — | — | ||
| 1978 | "Universe" | — | — | |
| "Mister Men Theme" | — | — | ||
| "Theme from The Incredible Hulk" | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "Aranjuez Mon Amour" | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Song for Guy" | — | — | Piccadilly |
| "I Like Beer" (with Max Bygraves) | — | — | ||
| "You Say Something Nice About Everybody" | — | — | ||
| "Verde" | — | — | ||
| "On Sunday" | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Find a Way" | — | — | PRT |
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