Some years ago a NYC radio DJ told an interesting anecdote about this song. Back in the days when John Lennon lived in New York, the DJ said he would occasionally see Lennon driving around the city in his classic Bentley. And
every time he saw the car, he could hear this song playing on the stereo.
The DJ said he was convinced that Lennon went to his grave wishing he had written “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”
I saw that psychadelic Bentley at the Vancouver BC world’s fair, Expo 86. The stereo was actually a turntable, rubber mounted to keep it from skipping. Ole Johnny L. probably wore out the LP.