‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ singer Gary Brooker dies at 76
In addition to being the frontman for the British band Procol Harum, he worked with other musicians such as Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman.
LONDON — Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman who sang one of the 1960s’ most enduring hits, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” has died. He was 76.
The English rock band said Brooker died at his home on Saturday. He had been receiving treatment for cancer.
A statement posted on the band’s official website said: “With the deepest regret we must announce the death on February 19 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry.”
The London-born Brooker was singer and keyboard player with the band, which had a huge hit with its first single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” With its Baroque-flavored organ solo and mysterious opening line – “We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor” — the song became one of the signature tunes of the 1967 “Summer of Love.”
It topped the U.K. album chart for six weeks, was a top 10 hit in the United States and in 2018 was one of six singles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2006, Procol Harum’s former organ player, Matthew Fisher, sued Brooker over the song’s famous Hammond organ solo. Brooker said he wrote the Bach-inspired melody before Fisher joined the band, but a judge awarded Fisher a share of credit and royalties alongside Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.
The judge said Fisher’s contribution to the song was “substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker.”
The band never had another hit on the same scale, but Brooker continued to lead Procol Harum for more than five decades, through various lineup changes and 13 albums.
Brooker also released three studio albums as a solo artist, including his 1979 debut “No More Fear of Flying” and the 1985 “Echoes in the Night,” though these did not reach the same commercial heights as Procol Harum’s output.
He also collaborated with other artists, including Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and played, wrote and sang for Eric Clapton’s band and Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, the statement said.
In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II made him an MBE — member of the Order of the British Empire — for services to charity.
Several prominent figures in the music industry paid tribute to Brooker, with musician Billy Joel saying on Twitter he was “sorry to hear” about Brooker’s passing, while collaborator Ringo Starr wrote, “God bless Gary Brooker peace and love to the family.”
“Gary was a master of song,” British musician Cat Stevens wrote on Twitter, saying they had begun working for the same label in 1966 and last collaborated on a concert in 2020. “God bless him with a brighter shade of peace.”
CNN Wire Services contributed to this story.