A Whiter Shade of Pale: The Cryptic Classic That Dominated 1967’s Summer of Love

Coming up, the story of a song that writers Gary Brooker and Keith Reid said was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum the song that would sell 10 million copies and the band name most people had no idea how to say! A Whiter Shade of Pale was Very complex and in the end, the song was over 10 minutes long…it had so many layers and lyrical twists and turns it was like a foreign film…. Problem is this was in a time when radio wouldn’t play songs over 4 minutes long so the band had to figure out how to trim it. This meant leaving two whole verses on the cutting room floor… The song became an instant classic and the de facto hit of one of 1967 the Summer of Love... In fact when Paul McCartney heard it he freaked out. It didn’t sound like anything on radio but would anyone ever hear the full song? Also, could anyone solve or decode this cryptic song… after it went to the top of the charts the world over...on its way to selling 10 million copies the band behind it fractured immediately. would they ever have another hit? It’s the story of a classic that many legends wished they had written... on Professor of Rock.

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