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 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks.[8] Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[9] 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.[10] In the years since, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has become an enduring classic, with more than 1,000 known cover versions by other artists.[11][12]
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
"Lime Street Blues"
12 May 1967
April 1967
Olympic Sound, London
- 4:03 (original single/album version)
- 5:54 (50th anniversary stereo remix)
With its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, melancholic tone, and unusual lyrics, the music of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was composed by Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher, while the lyrics were written by Keith Reid.[13] Originally, the writing credits only listed Brooker and Reid. In 2009, Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords.
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.[14] In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[15] In 2004, the performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years[16] and Rolling Stone placed it 57th on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2009, it was reported as the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK.[17]
The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films and television shows, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked, Tour of Duty, House M.D., Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories, Stonewall, Oblivion, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's documentary series The Vietnam War, the 2022 limited series The Offer, Memory and Billions. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example, by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.
Recording[edit]
Procol Harum recorded "A Whiter Shade of Pale" at Olympic Sound Studios in London, England. The recording was produced by Denny Cordell. Because they did not have a regular drummer, the drums were played by Bill Eyden, a session musician. The track was completed in two takes, with no subsequent overdubbing.[36]
A few days after the session, the band re-recorded the song with their newly recruited drummer, Bobby Harrison, at Advision Studios. This version was discarded, and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release as the band's debut single. The B-side was "Lime Street Blues", another Brooker–Reid song, which the band recorded at Advision.[37]
Cordell was concerned that the sound of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" might prove problematic on the radio, due to the prominence of the drummer's cymbals. He therefore sent an acetate copy to Radio London, and his worries were assuaged when the disc jockey played the disc on-air and announced: "That sounds like a massive hit."[38]
Release and reception[edit]
The single was released on 12 May 1967 in the United Kingdom by Deram Records and entered Record Retailer's chart (later the UK Singles Chart) on 25 May. In two weeks it reached number 1, where it stayed for six weeks. Writing in 2005, Jim Irvin of Mojo said that its arrival at number 1 on 8 June 1967, on the same day that the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band topped the national albums chart, marked the start of the Summer of Love in Britain.[39] In December 1967, New Musical Express readers voted the song "Best British Disc This Year", ahead of "All You Need Is Love" and "Massachusetts".[40]
According to music historian Harvey Kubernik, in the context of the Summer of Love, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was the "one song [that] stood above all others, its Everest-like status conferred by no less than John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were enthralled by the Chaucerian wordplay and heavenly Baroque accompaniment".[41] Kubernik also writes that, amid the search for higher consciousness during the flower power era, the song "galvanised a congregation of disaffected youth dismissive of traditional religion but anxious to achieve spiritual salvation".[42]
In a 1981 article on the musical and societal developments of 1967, for The History of Rock, sociomusicologist Simon Frith described "A Whiter Shade of Pale" as the year's "most distinctive single", through its combination of "white soul vocal and a Bach organ exercise" and enigmatic lyrics that "hinted at a vital secret open only to people in the right, drug-determined, state of mind".[43] Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson had a profound reaction to hearing the song and momentarily believed that it was his funeral march; in a 2004 interview, he said, "When I hear it now, I [still] imagine myself at my own funeral."[44]
In the United States, the single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies. It stayed at its peak position for two weeks beginning the week of 29 July 1967. It also peaked at number 22 on the soul charts there.[45] Cash Box called it "a haunting, imaginative ballad [that] has a winning sound".[46] Record World said it is distinguished by "a very eerie melody and lyrics that seem to make sense and then don't."[47] The song was included on the US release of the Procol Harum album, in September 1967, but not on the subsequent UK version.[41] In the Netherlands, the single entered the chart at number 1 in June 1967 and reached number 1 again in July 1972. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records peaked at number 13 in the UK. Due to concerns about overexposure, the song was removed from the band's repertoire in 1969 for a number of years.
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" has continued to receive critical acclaim. Along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was jointly recognised as "The Best British Pop Single 1952–1977" at the BRIT Awards, part of Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. In 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it appeared at number 57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at number 19 in its chart of "The 100 Greatest No. 1 Singles".[48] In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.[49]
After Brooker's death, the song gained download sales and then entered the UK Official Singles Sales Chart at number 38 on 25 February 2022.[50] In The Netherlands the song also regained popularity after the 2021 murder of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who considered it his favorite song.[51]
Authorship lawsuit[edit]
In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the High Court against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.[57] Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties for the period before 2005.[58]
Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was held before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in the Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship[59] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.[60]
On 5 November 2008, Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision to the House of Lords.[61] Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song.[62] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22–23 April 2009.[63]
On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher.[64][65] Brooker claimed that the case had cost him £1 million in legal fees.[66]
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
- "No More 'I Love You's'" (remix)
- "Heaven"
- "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear"
- "Love Song for a Vampire"
- "Don't Let It Bring You Down"
- "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart"
- "Here Comes the Rain Again"
- "Ladies of the Canyon"
29 May 1995[122]
- 4:49 (single)
- 5:16 (album)
Other charting versions[edit]
A cover by The Hesitations reached number 100 on the Billboard charts in 1968,[142] and number 83 in Canada.[143]
Another version by R. B. Greaves reached number 82 in the Billboard charts in 1970,[144] and number 85 in Canada.[145]