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Stranger on the Shore
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{{About|the musical piece|the BBC television series|Stranger on the Shore (TV serial)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}} {{Use British English|date=May 2014}} {{Infobox song | name = Stranger on the Shore | cover = Stranger on the Shore.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Acker Bilk|Mr. Acker Bilk]] and the [[Leon Young (musician)|Leon Young]] String Chorale | album = | B-side = "Take My Lips" (UK)<br/>"[[Cielito Lindo]]" (US) | released = [[1961 in music|October 1961]] | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = * [[Jazz]]<ref name= "Breihan 2018">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Mr. Acker Bilk's "Stranger On The Shore"|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= April 24, 2018 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/1992890/the-number-ones-mr-acker-bilks-stranger-on-the-shore/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= As far as jazz goes, ["Stranger on the Shore" is] so fluffy and inoffensive that it really only barely qualifies.|accessdate= June 10, 2023}}</ref> * [[easy listening]]<ref name="Doggett 2015">{{cite book|title= Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone - 125 Years of Pop Music|first=Peter|last=Doggett|date= 1 January 2015|chapter= Revolution in Reverse|page= 310|publisher=[[The Bodley Head]]|location= London|isbn=978-1-847-92218-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Electric_Shock.html?id=guSsCAAAQBAJ|access-date= 20 February 2025}}</ref> * [[Pop music|pop]]<ref name="Molanphy 2025">{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2025/03/kyu-sakamoto-the-singing-nun-and-forgotten-hits-of-the-1960s|title=Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=March 15, 2025|access-date=March 23, 2025|quote=...period-accurate 1960s pop songs, like...British clarinetist Mr. Acker Bilk, with his smash instrumental "Stranger on the Shore}}</ref> | length = {{Duration|m=2|s=52}} | label = [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]] DB4750 (UK)<br/>[[Atco Records|Atco]] 45-6217 (US) | writer = [[Acker Bilk]] | producer = [[Denis Preston]] | prev_title = [[The Stars and Stripes Forever|Stars and Stripes Forever]]/Creole Jazz | prev_year = 1961 | next_title = [[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]] | next_year = 1962 }} "'''Stranger on the Shore'''" is a piece for [[clarinet]] written by [[Acker Bilk]] for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2170 | title = Stranger On The Shore by Mr. Acker Bilk | access-date = 2009-05-29 | last = Wade | first = Anne | publisher = Songfacts | quote = 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.}}</ref> The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to arranger [[Leon Young (musician)|Leon Young]] who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/legends/leon-young|title=Robert Farnon Society - Leon Young|website=www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk}}</ref> The recording was subsequently used as the theme tune of a [[BBC One|BBC]] TV drama serial for young people, ''[[Stranger on the Shore (TV serial)|Stranger on the Shore]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/sots.htm |title=Stranger on the Shore | A Television Heaven Review |access-date=2006-08-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916012418/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/sots.htm |archive-date=16 September 2006 |df=dmy }}</ref> It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 on both the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and the [[UK singles chart|UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicvf.com/song.php?id=29699 |title=Stranger on the Shore (song by Mr. Acker Bilk) β’β’β’ Music VF, US & UK hits charts |website=Musicvf.com |date=1962-03-17 |access-date=2016-09-26}}</ref> In May 1969, the crew of [[Apollo 10]] took "Stranger on the Shore" on their mission to the [[moon (Earth)|moon]]. [[Gene Cernan]], 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 Acker Bilk (as "Mr. Acker Bilk") with backing by the Leon Young String Chorale, was recorded at the [[Lansdowne Studios]] and produced by [[Denis Preston]] with sound engineer [[Adrian Kerridge]].<ref>Adrian Kerridge. ''Tape's Rolling, Take One'' (2016), pp. 200-201</ref> It was released as a single on [[EMI]]'s [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]] label, catalogue number DB 4750, in October 1961; the label text states "Theme from the [[BBC]] T.V. Series" as it was used as the theme song to the series ''[[Stranger on the Shore (TV serial)|Stranger on the Shore]]''. The UK [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] was "Take My Lips" whereas the US flipside was "[[Cielito Lindo]]". The single became a phenomenal success, topping the ''[[NME]]'' [[UK singles chart|singles chart]] and spending nearly a year on the ''[[Record Retailer]]'' Top 50. It was the [[United Kingdom|UK]]'s biggest-selling single of 1962,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.everyhit.com/popup.php?songid=1842 | title = Stranger On The Shore notes | access-date = 2009-05-29 | publisher = everyHit.com | location = United Kingdom | quote = The biggest-selling single of 1962.}}</ref> the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, and appears fifty-eighth in the official UK [[List of best-selling singles by year (UK)|list of best-selling singles]] issued in 2002. It had sold 1.16 million copies as of November 2012.<ref name="guardian nov2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/04/uk-million-selling-singles-full-list |title=UK's million-selling singles: the full list |author= Ami Sedghi |publisher=Guardian |date=4 November 2012 |access-date=4 November 2012 }}</ref> 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|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] where it was issued by [[Atlantic Records]] on the [[Atco Records|Atco]] label, but it was quickly followed, on 22 December, by British band [[The Tornados]]' "[[Telstar (song)|Telstar]]", another [[instrumental]]. In the pre-[[Rock music|rock]] era, [[Vera Lynn]]'s "[[Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart|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 Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1962|''Billboard'''s #1 single of 1962]], and it spent seven weeks atop the "[[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]]" chart, which later became known as the Adult Contemporary chart.<ref>{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=33}}</ref> The tune became the second of three "one-hit wonders" named "pop single of the year" by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' (the others being 1958's "[[Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song)|Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)]]" by [[Domenico Modugno]] and 2006's "[[Bad Day (Daniel Powter song)|Bad Day]]" by [[Daniel Powter]]). The song is certified gold by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref>{{Cite certification|region=United States|artist=Mr. Acker Bilk|title=Stranger on the Shore}}</ref> ==Cover versions== The composition has been [[cover version|covered]] by many other artists, most prominently a vocal 1962 version by Andy Williams from his album ''[[Warm and Willing]]'', which reached #9 on the adult contemporary chart, #30 in the UK, and #38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicvf.com/song.php?id=2414 |title=Stranger on the Shore (song by Andy Williams) β’β’β’ Music VF, US & UK hits charts |website=Musicvf.com |date=1962-06-16 |access-date=2016-09-26}}</ref> and a group vocal version by [[the Drifters]] for their compilation album ''Up on the Roof β The Best of the Drifters'', which reached #19 on the adult contemporary chart and #73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicvf.com/song.php?id=42590 |title=Stranger on the Shore (song by The Drifters) β’β’β’ Music VF, US & UK hits charts |website=Musicvf.com |access-date=2016-09-26}}</ref> [[Herb Alpert]] performed an instrumental cover on his 1987 album ''[[Keep Your Eye on Me]]''. [[Kenny G]] covered the song in 1999 on his album, ''[[Classics in the Key of G]].'' A version in French, "Savoir Aimer", was sung by [[Nana Mouskouri]]. ==In popular culture== The song is used as the theme music for the 2003β2013 [[BBC Radio 4]] sketch show ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Sound]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=That Mitchell and Webb Sound |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/that_mitchell_and_webb_sound/trivia/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref> ==Charts== ===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (1962) !Peak<br />position |- |Canada ([[CHUM Chart]]) | style="text-align:center;"|3<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/62-05-14-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - May 14, 1962}}</ref> |- |United Kingdom (''[[Record Retailer]]'') | style="text-align:center;"|2<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19620111/7501/|title=Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive: 13th January 1962|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=4 August 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19620118/7501/|title=Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive: 20th January 1962|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19620125/7501/|title=Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive: 27th January 1962|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref> |- |United Kingdom (''[[List of NME number-one singles from the 1960s|NME]]'') | style="text-align:center;"|1<ref>{{cite book|last3=Osborne|first3=Roger|first1=Dafydd|last1=Rees|first2=Barry|last2=Lazell|title=Forty Years of "NME" Charts|edition=2nd|year=1995|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Pan Macmillan]]|isbn=0-7522-0829-2|page=109}}</ref> |- |United Kingdom (''[[List of Record Mirror number-one singles|Record Mirror]]'') | style="text-align:center;"|1<ref name="Sixties">{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Alan |title=Every No.1 in the 1960s is listed from all the nine different magazine charts! |url=http://www.davemcaleer.com/page22.htm |work=[[Dave McAleer]]'s website |access-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012125528/http://www.davemcaleer.com/page22.htm |archive-date=12 October 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> |- |U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] |align="center"|1 |} ===All-time charts=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" !scope="col"|Chart !scope="col"|Position |- !scope="row"|UK Singles (Official Charts Company)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-biggest-selling-singles-of-all-time__21298/|title=The UK's biggest selling singles of all time|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624234820/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-biggest-selling-singles-of-all-time__21298/|archive-date=24 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> |align="center"|95 |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (1958-2018)<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|360 |} ==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Stranger on the Shore"}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Mr. Acker Bilk|title=Stranger on the Shore|award=Gold|relyear=1957|certyear=1969|access-date=July 1, 2024}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}} ==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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/stranger-on-the-shore-mw0000462242|title=Stranger on the Shore - Acker Bilk | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960β1979}} {{Andy Williams}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger On The Shore}} [[Category:1961 singles]] [[Category:1962 singles]] [[Category:Andy Williams songs]] [[Category:The Drifters songs]] [[Category:Ruby & the Romantics songs]] [[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]] [[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]] [[Category:Television drama theme songs]] [[Category:1961 songs]] [[Category:Atco Records singles]] [[Category:Columbia Graphophone Company singles]] [[Category:Songs written by Robert Mellin]] [[Category:Songs written for television series]] [[Category:1960s instrumentals]] [[Category:Radio theme songs]]
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