In 2004, the performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years and Rolling Stone placed it 57th on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 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 2009, Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords. Originally, the writing credits only listed Brooker and Reid. With its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, 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. 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. 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. Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. It still sounds different." A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on. And if I hear it myself on the radio, it always sounds different to all else that is going on in 2017, just like it sounded so different to everything else in 1967. And new people pick it up as well. It’s not everybody that met their first girlfriend in 1967, you know? There’s people that have picked up the song along the way. It is still a great mystery to me why, how it’s come to be still so strong in so many people’s brains and lives and feelings. With the benefit of hindsight, what do you think accounts for the song’s enduring appeal? I never thought that far in front at all.
But I never even thought 10 years ahead, let alone 50. And of course it was a smash hit around the world straightaway, which is even more fantastic. When it was written and I was singing it, just the piano and vocal, I thought, ‘This is different.’ It was a good song and the recording came out very well, so that was job done. When you were recording “A Whiter Shade of Pale” could you tell it was one for the ages? The group released a new album, Novum, earlier this year and will be announcing 50th anniversary concerts soon, but Brooker took a few minutes away from 2017 to remember when he turned cartwheels ‘cross the floor…. Procol Harum, meanwhile, is still an active concern, led by co-founder, singer and keyboardist Gary Brooker. It’s been echoed (try Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”) but never equaled, and is the rare song of psychedelia that sounds as fresh now as when it was released. A perennial selection on Greatest Songs list and a frequent soundtrack choice for movies ( The Big Chill, The Commitments, New York Stories), the Bach-flavored track was, and remains, original and ethereal, melodic and mysterious. Released 50 years ago today (on May 12, 1967), the four-minute first single from Procol Harum skipped the light fandango - whatever the hell that meant - and became a Summer of Love anthem that spent six weeks atop the U.K.
Debut singles don’t come much more auspicious than Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale.”
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