Concert Introduction

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 A Whiter Shade of Pale was the debut single by the British rock group, Procol Harum. It hit the airwaves 51 years ago, in the Summer of Love, 1967.

Keith Reid wrote the lyrics, and Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher composed the music. Reid said that his main influence was Bob Dylan and that the song is about a breakup and a drunken seduction. The music has passages that derive from Bach and A Man Loves a Woman (from 1966). Much of the imagery in the song is nautical, with dreamy, psychedelic atmospherics.

An enduring classic, it is one of a dozen singles to have sold 10 million copies. It was number one in many countries, and the most-played record in 70 years of British broadcasting.

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Liz Pochter - Jan. 2018