Gary Brooker, lead singer of English band Procol Harum, dies, aged 76.

The Guardian ^ | 2.22.22 | Harriet Sherwood

[Carriage Hill]

Gary Brooker, the lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum, whose 1967 hit A Whiter Shade of Pale mesmerised baby boomer fans with its psychedelic melancholy, has died at the age of 76. The pianist, composer and lyricist as well as frontman for the band had been treated for cancer. He died peacefully at home at the weekend. A statement on Procol Harum’s website described Brooker as “a brightly shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry”. It added: “Gary exhibited and developed a highly individual talent. His first single with Procol Harum, 1967’s A Whiter Shade of Pale, is widely regarded as defining the ‘summer of love’, yet it could scarcely have been more different from the characteristic records of that era ….

[Carriage Hill]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6jyEFe5WM

[dfwgator]

Also made a brief appearance in the movie “Evita” during “The Rainbow Tour”.

[The Mayor]

Oh damn, we are all getting old fast.

RIP Gary Brooker

[Carriage Hill]

Well said.
It was perhaps the greatest of all-time, IMO.

[38special]

I just heard “Conquistador” on the radio station the other day. Great song.

[circlecity]

“Trower endures.”

So underrated. “Bridge of Sighs” is one of my top 5 favorite albums ever.

[dainbramaged]

Saw them live back in the 70’s, Uriah Heep was the opening act IIRC.

[Carriage Hill]

Here’s a bunch of skating routines to it:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=skating+to+”whiter+shade+of+pale”

[Rummyfan]

Trower endures.

A guitar virtuoso. Bridge of Sighs still works.

[plain talk]

Well trower is still alive and playing and hanging on

[Lurker]

Uriah Heep was the second band I ever saw live just a month or so after The Guess Who.

L

[Rummyfan]

Procol Harum (/ˈproʊkəl ˈhɑːrəm/) are an English rock band formed in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies.[4]

Ten million copies?! That's not bad.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A Salty Dog.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Mine too.

“A Salty Dog”

‘All hands on deck, we’ve run afloat!’ I heard the captain cry
‘Explore the ship, replace the cook: let no one leave alive!’
Across the straits, around the Horn: how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain’s eye
Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all
We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept: our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman’s log: your witness my own hand

[gloryblaze]

I’ll be danged! Thank you kindly.

[Magnum44]

Thanks for posting. Another great memory.

[dead]

Wow, just saw him and his band in a little bar in NYC about 3 years ago. Voice was as beautiful as ever. I recorded a couple of videos.

Whiter Shade of Pale

[jerod]

Bring another tray... I miss those days. The days before ‘craft’ beer when you ordered a tray of draught and it wasn’t this type, or that type... It was only one type. The type that came out of a no-name keg.

[newfreep]

My fav PH song and version

“Conquistador” - LIVE with Danish orchestra - 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-zti_qAHsA

[Wilum]

In 1992 my daughter was born while Whiter Shade of Pale was playing on the boom box in the delivery room.