"A Whiter Shade Of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Song profile With its haunting tone and Bach flavouring (both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher), vocals by Gary Brooker, and unusual lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. Even in 2009, it was the most played song in public places in the UK. In fact, the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.. More than 900 recorded cover versions by other artists are known. The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net. The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in an unanimous ruling from the Law Lords of the House of Lords. Recording and personnel The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios, with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass, and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were provided by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior, and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release. Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer. The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version. Chart performance and acclaim The single was released on 12 May 1967 (UK, Deram Records). It entered the UK charts on 25 May 1967. In two weeks, it had reached number one, where it stayed for six weeks. All in all, it stayed 15 weeks on the UK chart. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies. Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (Germany) , # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100) Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim. It was named joint winner (along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody") of the Best British Pop Single 1952-1977 at the BRIT Awards, part of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. Rolling Stone magazine placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" as #57 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2004. British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles. Lyrics Reid told Songfacts that he got the idea for the title when it came to him at a party, which gave him a starting point for the song. The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth. The phrase a whiter shade of pale by Keith Reid has since gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.. As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y - this to the extent that it has been officially recognized as a snowclone - a type of cliché and phrasal template. Resemblance to the work of J.S. Bach The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers Awake" and "Air on a G String", but contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach[15], although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referenced in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments. Authorship lawsuit In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song. Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005. Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was had before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in The Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker. On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision in the House of Lords.. Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song. The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22nd - 23rd April 2009 . On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher. The musicological basis of the judgment, and its effect on the rights of musicians who contribute composition to future works, have drawn wide attention in the music world.
