Acker Bilk: Difference between revisions

'''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.

 

 

==Early life==

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>

 

 

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 &#124; 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

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.

 

 

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&nbsp;— 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}}''.

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".

 

 

 

==Personal life==

 

==Other interests==

 

==Legacy==

[[Category:People from Bath and North East Somerset]]

[[Category:British expatriates in Germany]]

[[Category:20th-century clarinetists]]

[[Category:20th-century British musicians]]

[[Category:21st-century clarinetists]]

[[Category:21st-century British musicians]]

[[Category:Atco Records artists]]

[[Category:Dixieland clarinetists]]

[[Category:British jazz clarinetists]]

[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]

[[Category:Stomp Off artists]]

[[Category:Pye Records artists]]

[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]