A Whiter Shade of Pale

The song "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" was released in 1967 by the band Procol Harum and was written by Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.{{ref|2005suit}}

Related Topics:
1967 - Procol Harum - Gary Brooker - Keith Reid

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The song was a hit in Europe and the United States, and enjoyed critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine placed "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" as #57 of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. British TV station Channel 4 also placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest singles http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/singles/results.html.

Related Topics:
Europe - United States - Rolling Stone - 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - 2004 - TV - Channel 4

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The electric organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by the Johann Sebastian Bach cantata "Sleepers Awake", but contrary to some belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of this or any other Bach piece. http://web.archive.org/web/20010616151342/www.bachfaq.org/whiter.html

Related Topics:
Electric organ - Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata - Sleepers Awake

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It was combined with a melody flavoured by Bach but also styled after soul singer Percy Sledge's 1966 classic "When A Man Loves A Woman". Sledge loved Procol Harum's composition so much that he added it to his live repertoire.

Related Topics:
Soul singer - Percy Sledge - 1966

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The song has been further covered several times, most notably by Jimmy Castor Bunch (who made an instrumental, more jazz-like arrangement) and Annie Lennox.

Related Topics:
Covered - Jimmy Castor Bunch - Jazz - Annie Lennox

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A version by saxophonist King Curtis opens the motion picture Withnail and I.

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Saxophonist - King Curtis - Motion picture - Withnail and I

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The Procol Harum version is featured in the Alan Parker feature film The Commitments, where it is briefly analysed without agreement.

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Alan Parker - The Commitments

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Indeed besides its haunting tonality, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is best known for its equally inscrutable lyrics, which, despite a huge upswell among the Internet fans of Procol Harum, Gary Brooker has disclaimed any intention of ever explaining or assigning additional meaning.

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Another interpretation is that the song held odd and unrelated lyrics, possibly from a poem by Reid about boy/girl relationships that used sailing metaphors, which were a pun on or spoof of the psychedelic songs written at the time which had bizarre metaphors and droll phrases.

Related Topics:
Poem - Sailing - Psychedelic

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It has been said that John Lennon, in 1967, loved this song so much that he would listen to it through headphones over & over during long journeys in the back of his limo. Upon reaching his destination, he would remain lying on the back seat, saying he had to hear it a few more times before getting out of the car.

Related Topics:
John Lennon - 1967

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