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Saturday, May 26, 2018

I WATCHED YOUR SHIP AS IT SAILED OUT TO SEA

"STRANGER ON THE SHORE" GOES TO THE TOP

On May 26, 1962, Acker Bilk's instrumental single "Stranger on the Shore" reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100.  Acker Bilk* played jazz clarinet dressed as an Edwardian dance hall player.  He became the first British performer to top the American pop charts.

The lyrics of the song open with...

"Here I stand, watching the tide go out,
So alone and blue, just dreaming of you.
I watched your ship as it sailed out to sea..."

*Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk (1929-2014) was born in Pensford, Somerset, England & served in the Royal Engineers in the Suez Canal Zone & started his own band in 1951.  BSAB received the BBC "Gold Award" in 2005.

SOURCE

"May 26, 1962:  The British Invasion has an odd beginning", www.history.com/



Acker Bilk
in the 1960s
The Clarence Ballroom
Photo by Marquisofqueensbury