A Whiter Shade Of Pale is a song which was released in 1967 by the band Procol Harum. With its haunting tonality and Bach flavouring, both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher, vocals by Gary Brooker, and mysterious lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 on the British charts, was a hit in Europe, and reached #5 in the United States. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic, and has earned extensive critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine placed "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" as #57 of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. British TV station Channel 4 also placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest singles^[1]

Brooker and Reid have disclaimed any intention of ever explaining or assigning additional meaning to the lyrics.

Personnel

The musicians on the original recording: Gary Brooker, voice and piano; Matthew Fisher, Hammond organ; David Knights, bass; Ray Royer, guitar and Bill Eyden, drums. Producer: Denny Cordell; sound engineer: Keith Grant. Location: Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, England. Official Release Date: May 12, 1967. For further information about the recording, see Post #24 here.

Resemblance to Bach's work

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by the Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers Awake" and "Air on a G String", but contrary to some belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of these or any other Bach piece.^[2]

Cover versions

A huge number of artists have covered the song,^[3], including:

• Instrumental by "New Age" pianist David Lanz, with Matthew Fisher on Hammond organ
• A pop rendition by Annie Lennox
• Joe Cocker's soul arrangement,
• Percy Sledge's R&B
• Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings country version for Nelson's Always on My Mind album
• A reggae version by the Wailing Souls.
• An Italian version, entitled Senza luce (without light), by the Italian beat band Dik Dik
• Zakk Wylde, of Black Label Society, as well as guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, covered the song in Hangover Music Volume VI.
• Sarah Brightman's operatic version featured on her 2000 La Luna album.
• Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers comedic cover (partially in Donald Duck voice) on their 2005 album The Shed.

In popular culture

• Among its many appearances in film are: a version by saxophonist King Curtis in the motion picture Withnail and I (it being Richard E. Grant's favourite song), the Alan Parker feature film The Commitments, where it is briefly analysed without agreement, the hit film The Big Chill whose soundtrack was also a bestseller, as the end credit music for Sandra Bullock's The Net, and the TV miniseries The Tenth Kingdom.
• This song appeared in the Japanese commercials for the Nissan Silvia (S13). Three variations of the commercial featuring this song exist, all are on You Tube.
• In the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the song is on a mixed tape Charlie makes for Sam.
• In chapter 13 of the English version of the manga series Maison Ikkoku, the main character says, "Maybe it's 'a salty dog' that makes you a whiter shade of pale!"

Authorship lawsuit

In 2005, Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that Fisher co-wrote the music for the song. ^[4] Fisher, now a computer programmer in Croydon, South London, is claiming a £1million share of copyright and past sales and will put his argument before a High Court judge in London next week. Brooker insisted that the 1967 song was written even before Fisher joined the band^[5]