Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on May 12, 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

Procol Harum’s lyricist Keith Reid wrote the words to this song. Reid formed Procol Harum in 1967 with Gary Brooker, becoming an official member even though he didn’t sing or play any instruments. “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” was one of about 15 songs that he wrote for their first album.

Embed

Copy and paste this HTML code into your webpage to embed.

Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale

PROCOL HARUM - A Whiter Shade Of Pale - promo film #2 (Official Video)03:56

A video was filmed for this song showing Gary Brooker singing it in various London locales as his bandmates look on stoically. It was made for video jukeboxes, which were popular in the ’60s. The companies that made these machines typically paid for the videos.

Procol Harum at Gala du Midem. 27 January 1968

Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France LIVE on ORTF, France and transmitted by Eurovision to some

Embed

Copy and paste this HTML code into your webpage to embed.

06:08

The song has an unusual ending, fading out just as Gary Brooker starts the first line of the chorus (“And so it was…”). In 2017, an extended version with a very different ending was released. In that one, Brooker completes the chorus and the song resolves in a tidy manner. This extended version runs 5:52; the original clocks in at 4:04.

VIDEO ON THE TOP: Footage from 1967 of the first Procol Harum line-up. This promotional film was restored and upgraded by Henry Scott-Irvine in 2008. Included in the 2015 remastered & expanded ‘Procol Harum’ album via Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records.

Views: 2