| "Stranger on the Shore" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Mr. Acker Bilk and the Leon Young String Chorale | ||||
| B-side | "Take My Lips" (UK) "Cielito Lindo" (US) | |||
| Released | October 1961 | |||
| Genre | Jazz[1] | |||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Columbia DB4750 (UK) Atco 45-6217 (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Acker Bilk, Robert Mellin | |||
| Producer(s) | Denis Preston | |||
| Mr. Acker Bilk and the Leon Young String Chorale singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her.[2] The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to arranger Leon Young who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end.[3]
The recording was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people, Stranger on the Shore.[4] It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 in the US and number 1 in the UK.[5]
In May 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 took "Stranger on the Shore" on their mission to the moon. Gene Cernan, a member of the crew, included the tune on a cassette tape used in the command module of the Apollo spacecraft.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (24 April 2018). "The Number Ones: Mr. Acker Bilk's "Stranger On The Shore"". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
As far as jazz goes, ["Stranger on the Shore" is] so fluffy and inoffensive that it really only barely qualifies.
- ^ Wade, Anne. "Stranger On The Shore by Mr. Acker Bilk". Songfacts. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
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.
- ^ "Robert Farnon Society - Leon Young". www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk.
- ^ "Stranger on the Shore | A Television Heaven Review". Archived from the original on 16 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-16.
- ^ "Stranger on the Shore (song by Mr. Acker Bilk) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 17 March 1962. Retrieved 26 September 2016.