A step back in time to 1967, the summer of love, and Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale'.
With its haunting tonality and Bach flavoring (both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher), vocals by Gary Brooker, and unusual lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" sold millions of copies and reached #1 in several countries all over the world within months of being released. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. In 2004, the United Kingdom named it the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.
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. It has been reported that this was John Lennon's favorite song.
Of the hundreds of versions of the song recorded and used in films, perhaps the most enduring was made by King Curtis [Curtis Ousley] the jazz saxophonist, just a few months before his premature death in 1971, at age 35. Hauntingly beautiful.
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