In 1967, Procol Harum had a hit single with “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” The debut single from the English rock band helped define the Summer of Love, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 29, 1967.
Rolling Stone ranked “A Whiter Shade of Pale” one of the greatest songs of all time. Describing the song as “a somber hymn supported by an organ theme straight out of Bach... Procol Harum’s 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' was unlike anything else on the radio in 1967.”
More than 50 years later, the song remains one of the most played records ever on British radio, according to The Guardian.
Not only is it one of the commercially successful singles in history, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” has been covered by more than 1,000 artists over the years, per American songwriter.
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” was written by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, and Matthew Fisher. The music was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s Air on the G String (from Orchestral Suite No. 3) . Songwriter Reid once told Uncut magazine that he based the lyrics around one line that came into his head.
“I had the phrase ‘a whiter shade of pale.’ That was the start, and I knew it was a song,” he shared in the interview. “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene…I wasn’t trying to be mysterious with those images, I was trying to be evocative.”
RELATED: 1966 Hit Featured a Producer’s Scream You May Have Missed
Amazingly, the hit single did not appear on Procol Harum’s debut album when it was originally released in the UK in 1967.
Speaking with Classic Rock, Brooker explained that the single “had sold enormous numbers” before the full album was recorded. “I should think that everybody – I’m not exaggerating, everybody – had it,” he said of the song. “So we felt it would be cheating people to make them buy it again. That was our logic. It made perfect sense at the time.”
“I think anybody would be happy to have such a success,” he said of the band’s No. 1 UK and sole U.S. Top 10 single.
A live version of the song was released 40 years later
Decades after “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was first released, a live version of the song was recorded in Ledreborg Castle in Denmark. The live album, Concert with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir, was released in 2009.
The music website The Music Man noted, “Procol Harum’s ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ is said by many to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written, but when the band played it alongside the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir, it somehow became even more powerful.”
The live collaboration with the orchestral backing received more than 99 million views online, the outlet revealed.
?SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox?
Hence then, the article about 1967 classic rock anthem ranked among the greatest songs of all time one of the most beautiful songs ever written was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 1967 Classic Rock Anthem Ranked Among the ‘Greatest Songs of All Time’—‘One of the Most Beautiful Songs Ever Written’ )
Also on site :
- Physicists just witnessed pinpricks of darkness moving faster than the speed of light — without breaking the laws of relativity
- China has so far weathered the historic oil crisis. But as Xi prepares to meet Trump, costs are starting to grow
- 90 Years Later, the World's Most Famous Photo Exposes the Dark Side of Viral Fame: 'I Wish She Hadn't Taken My Picture'