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"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
written by
Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...
for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her. 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. The recording was subsequently used as the theme tune of a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
TV drama serial for young people, '' Stranger on the Shore''. It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 in the US and number 2 in the UK. In May 1969, the crew of
Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
took "Stranger on the Shore" on their mission to the
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
Gene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being to ...
, a member of the crew, included the tune on a cassette tape used in the command module of the Apollo spacecraft.


Chart and sales performance

The track, performed by Bilk (as "Mr. Acker Bilk") with backing by the Leon Young String Chorale, was recorded at the
Lansdowne Studios Lansdowne Studios was a music recording studio in Holland Park, London, England, which operated between 1958 and 2006. Background The studio was located at Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, within Lansdowne House, a Grade II listed eight-storey bu ...
and produced by
Denis Preston Sidney Denis Preston (''né'' Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiff ...
. It was released as a single on
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
'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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
was "Take My Lips" whereas the US flipside was "Cielito Lindo". The single became a phenomenal success, topping the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' singles chart and spending nearly a year on the ''Record Retailer'' Top 50. It was the UK's biggest-selling single of 1962, the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, and appears fifty-eighth in the official UK
list of best-selling singles This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...
issued in 2002. It had sold 1.16 million copies as of November 2012. One of songwriter and music publisher
Robert Mellin Israel Melnikoff (September 22, 1902 – July 10, 1994), known professionally as Robert Mellin, was a Russian Empire-born American composer and lyricist and music publisher. Born in Kyiv and raised in Chicago, where his first job was music plugg ...
'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 Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
on the
Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
label, but it was quickly followed, on 22 December, by British band
The Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...
' "
Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fi ...
", another
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
. In the pre-rock era,
Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
'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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, with their first
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
single "
I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders ...
". "Stranger on the Shore" was ''Billboards #1 single of 1962, and it spent seven weeks atop the "
Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
" chart, which later became known as the Adult Contemporary chart. 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 Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...
and 2006's " Bad Day" by
Daniel Powter Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his self-penned hit song " Bad Day" (2005), which was top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks. Biography Early life Powter grew up in Verno ...
). The song is certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
.


All-time charts


Cover versions

The composition has been
covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by many other artists, most prominently a vocal 1962 version by
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
, which reached #9 on the
adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
, #30 in the UK, and #38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and a group vocal version by
the Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
, which reached #19 on the adult contemporary chart and #73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
did his instrumental cover on his 1987 album '' Keep Your Eye on Me''.
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...
covered it in 1999 on his album, ''
Classics in the Key of G ''Classics in the Key of G'' is the first cover album and ninth studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on June 28, 1999, and reached number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 13 on the Internet Albums ...
.'' A version in French, ''Savoir Aimer'', was sung by
Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ger ...
.


Charts


Album

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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger On The Shore 1961 singles 1962 singles Andy Williams songs The Drifters songs Ruby & the Romantics songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written for films Children's television theme songs 1961 songs Atco Records singles Columbia Graphophone Company singles Songs written by Robert Mellin 1960s instrumentals