PROCOL HARUM - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

Procol Harum
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Single / B-side: "Lime Street Blues"
Released: 12 May 1967
Album: Procol Harum (Released: September 1967)
Writers: Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher
Label: Deram Records

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut single by the English rock band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. One of the counterculture anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. This was the first song Procol Harum recorded. After it became a hit, they fired their original drummer and guitarist, replacing them with Barry Wilson and Robin Trower - more experienced musicians who could handle the subsequent touring.

Procol Harum's single: "A Whiter Shade of Pale' (1967, front cover)

Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (music video, 1967)

With its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics, written by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, and organist Matthew Fisher, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached No. 1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. As of 2009, it was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the United Kingdom, and the UK performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" No. 57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at No. 19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.

In 1977, the song was named joint winner (along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody") of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the Brit Awards. In 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known. The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked, Oblivion, and in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and byAnnie Lennox in The Net.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for adding the organ parts to the original music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords.

Procol Harum's single: "A Whiter Shade of Pale' (1967, front cover)

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, England, with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly recruited drummer Bobby Harrison, but that version was discarded and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

Procol Harum's album: Procol Harum, 1967

Reid got the title and starting point for the song at a party. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale," and the phrase stuck in his mind. The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth. The author of Procol Harum: beyond the pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act." This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys. Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.

Structurally and thematically, the song is unusual in many respects. While the recorded version is 4:03 long, it is composed of only two verses, each with chorus. The piece is also more instrument-driven than most songs of the period, and with a much looser rhyme scheme. Its unusually allusive and referential lyrics are much more complex than most lyrics of the time. Thus, this piece can be considered an early example of progressive rock.

Composition of the song is often regarded as being derived from Johann Sebastian Bach's well-known "Air on the G String". The similarity is referred to in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppardand 1991 film The Commitments. However, the song has been linked to other works by Bach. Dutch author Maarten't Hart calls "A Whiter Shade of Pale" an "original adaptation" of the sinfonia from Bach's Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156 (which has a similar melody to the "Air on the G String"). The stepwise bass motion of the song's Hammond organ obbligatto is close to the "Air on a G String", but Fisher has acknowledged Bach's "Sleepers, Wake!" as an inspiration for the ornamentation.

The music also borrows ideas from "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, who has covered "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

Procol Harum single 45 RPM "A Whiter Shade of Pale", 1967

Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"  (promo video, 1967)

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim: 

- John Lennon was a great fan of the song and was known to have played it repeatedly in his Rolls Royce. When it was released in England, Lennon (and friends in his circle) reportedly mistook Brooker's voice for that of Steve Winwood, who had popularity at the time with The Spencer Davis Group.

- Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys believed that the song was his personal funeral march, later explaining in 2004 that he momentarily thinks he's at his own funeral every time he hears the record.

Video:

The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England. The Witley Court video features four of the five musicians who played on the hit single: Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, David Knights and Ray Royer, in performance and walking through the ruins. Only the drummer in the video isn't on the record: early band member Bobby Harrison is seen miming to session man Bill Eyden's drumming. According to Shindig! Magazine's Procol Harum cover story by Alan Robinson (November–December 2009 issue – page 55), the video was directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the Top of the Pops TV show. The band subsequently made another video using "Scopitone" technology, but by this time, Robin Trower and B.J. Wilson had replaced Royer and Harrison in the band, so only three of the five musicians on the recording are represented, and no performance footage included – only the five musicians cavorting around London, running across fields, etc. This lineup, with Fisher in a monk's cowl, also mimed to the song on Top of the Pops, (though Gary Brooker sang live) and black-and-white footage of this performance has been shown online, perhaps constituting the third video of the song from 1967.

There was also a video shot as part of Joel Gallen's Deja-View music video series. Originally airing on various networks in late 1985 through 1986, this video starred Harry Dean Stanton and Bernie Taupin, but featured no member of the band. It has also aired on VH1 Classic, and has recently surfaced online.

Procol Harum in the 6os

Line-up / Musicians:

Gary Brooker – vocals, piano

Matthew Fisher – organ

Dave Knights – bass guitar
Ray Royer – guitar 
Bill Eyden – drums 
Keith Reid – lyrics

Links / Reviews:
wikipedia: A Whiter Shade of Pale
songfacts: A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum
allmusic: Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale
Procol Harum official website:  Meanings in 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'
rollingstone: 500 Greatest Songs o All Time - Procol Harum "Whiter Shade of Pale"
progarchives: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 40th Anniversary Edition