aflem wrote:

It has not been a kind start to the year for so many 60s and 70s artists. Gary Brooker was the lead singer of Procul Harum and co-writer of the classic "Whiter Shade of Pale," a song whose lyrics I still find unfathomable. 

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the 1967 tune was inspired by Brooker's love of classical music. 

“About that time, the Jacques Louissier Trio — which had a pianist, bass player and drummer — made an album called Play Bach,” Brooker told Songwriter Universe in 2020. “They were a jazz trio, and they’d start off with a piece of Bach, and they would improvise around it. Louissier had done a fabulous version of what was called ‘Air On a G String’ which was also used in a set of good adverts in Britain.

And all those things came together one morning [on ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’] … a bit of Bach and ‘Air On a G String’ going through my head.”

Brooker was taken too soon by cancer. He was 76.
 
Procol Harum Frontman Gary Brooker Dies

matthew might argue about front man status, but it's sadness all around indeed.
 

Last edited by gopher (February 22, 2022 2:13 pm)