R.I.P. Gary Brooker (of the Procol Harum)

Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker, died at his home from cancer on Saturday, Feb. 19. He was 76.

“His first single with Procol Harum, 1967’s ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale,’ is widely regarded as defining ‘The Summer of Love’.

Brooker grew up in London and formed the Paramounts with guitarist Robin Trower when he was just 17. They gained a large following on the London club scene and even shared bills with the Rolling Stones on several occasions; but the group found little success with their studio recordings outside of a 1964 cover of “Poison Ivy” that became a minor hit in England.

The Paramounts split in 1966, and then Brooker met lyricist Keith Reid and the pair started a new group: Procol Harum. Their first single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” was inspired by Brooker’s love of classical musicians like Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

The song was a masterpiece that had reached Number One all over the world and turn Procol Harum in a major band almost overnight. Although the band never managed to land another hit of that magnitude, they maintained a large cult audience and worked steadily throughout the Sixties and Seventies, scoring occasional hits like “Conquistador” and “A Salty Dog.” In 1972, they cut the live album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that helped bring the band back into the public eye.

Procol Harum broke up in 1977, after which Brooker launched a solo career and began touring and recording with his longtime buddy Eric Clapton. His work can be heard on Clapton’s 1981 LP Another Ticket. He also played piano on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and had a memorable appearance in the 1996 film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita as Argentine labor lawyer Juan Atilio Bramuglia. 

A new version of Procol Harum was assembled in 1991 that recorded and toured up until 2019, though they took a pause in 1997 and 1999 so Brooker could tour with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band. He also toured as a member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and played at the 2003 Concert For George.