In the UK in 2004, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” was recognized as the song most played by British broadcasters for the 70 years prior. To this day, it is one of less than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. It went on to reach #1 in many other countries as well. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that the song received very little promotion. Less than a month after its release, the song reached #1 on the UK chart and remained there for six weeks. It didn’t take long for “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” to gain traction. Still, five decades later, the band has endured, having just released their 12 th studio album, Novum. To say that an artist peaked before even releasing their first full album is a bit unfair, but this song is inarguably the most memorable moment of Procol Harum’s career. On (50 years ago today), Procol Harum was introduced to the world with their first single, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale.” However, there is one that comes to mind. It’s hard to think of a debut song that has done the same. Greaves, the nephew of Sam Cooke, in 1970.Throughout the course of rock and roll history, there have been numerous debut albums that have left their mark on the world. The Dells put their soulful stamp on the song in 1969 and there were minor US chart versions by Cleveland R&B group the Hesitations in 1968 and R.B. But it’s not often remembered that the first by a well-known artist was by the Everly Brothers, sounding almost unrecognizable on a track from their August 1967 album The Everly Brothers Sing.īy October that year, the Box Tops were including the song on their album The Letter/Neon Rainbow, assembled in the wake of their US chart-topping success “The Letter.” The Procol hit soon went reggae, in a reading by Alton Ellis, and before 1967 was out it had also been recorded by Noel Harrison, singer-actor son of thespian Rex, and by saxophone ace King Curtis with his group the Kingpins.Īmerican chart regular Johnny Rivers swapped Fisher’s original, expressive organ motif for piano on his cover from the 1968 album Realization. Interpretations of the song started to appear almost immediately.
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