Having grown up hearing the original I believe this is the most beautiful version and also one of the best live performances of any song I have ever heard.
This is a masterpiece. It is an anthem I remember from the 1960's beautifully sung by the wonderful Gary Brooker who was lost to the world in February this year. RIP legend!
@@zella417bcarter9 Yes that is correct. It's pretty amazing that he still had such power in his voice when singing at this concert all these years later. A wonderful version of that 1967 classic number one hit.
Gary Brooker pianist was the lead singer of the group Procol Harum. Sadly he passed away in early 2022. Thankfully though he left us with this beautiful memory.
The lyrics were based on the Miller's Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, where the carpenter's wife was accused of having an affair. She then turned 'a whiter shade of pale' at being found out.
That makes the most sense that I’ve ever heard about this song’s lyrics. Always loved the song, but could never quite get all the lyrics, nor the genius connection to Chaucer. Thanks for sharing.
There is definitely a link to Chaucer. But many believe there is more to it than that. Gary Brooker himself was not too forthcoming when asked about the lyrics.
@@pigknuckle1 I never tried to fully understand the literal meaning of the lyrics, I just felt the feel of the song. When I don't get all the lyrics or all the meaning, I enjoy learning it bit by bit over the years, it keeps the song fresh for me.
Quote from an interview with the writer. - “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.” Skip the lights fandango is the mating dance you might be familiar with were the woman plays castanets. The Miller in this story is the bartender informing the woman about the man and her ghostly face turns a Whiter Shade of pale.
Gary Brooker's voice has only improved with age; and this is as good as it gets. I've loved this since my teens. Absolutely superb. I believe he did the orchestration himself.
So did John Lennon. And Ringo Starr. I don't know what George thought but 3 out of 4 of the Beatles in the bag is a fairly good start. Simply the most beautiful song ever recorded. And while I still prefer the original, this live version is just astonishingly good.
This is the greatest live version of this song. Am glad he gave it to us before he passed away. 8 years old when I first heard it back in 67. I remember cause it made me cry my mom laughed. Telling me it's only a song. It's making me feel sad. But I am right back there in that moment whenever I hear it.
He was in his 60s when he sang this, his voice hadn't really changed over the years. A true artist. Along with Comfortable Numb always brings tears to my eyes.
I've been a musician for over 50 years and have heard this song since it was new. It was just played on a Hammond B-3 organ without the orchestra. The melody is hauntingly beautiful as is the chord progression. The first time (and every other time) I heard this version with the orchestra it brought a tear to my eye because it was so beautiful. The somber mood is associated with songs in minor keys in general but I don't think the message is necessarily sad or negative. He describes a night in a bar where he'd had too much to drink and felt a little "seasick" but the crowd called out for more so apparently, he was performing. They called out for another drink and the waiter brought a tray. It doesn't explain who the woman was but she seemed to turn from ghostly to a whiter shade of pale based on the miller's tale. There is no mention of a relationship as far as I can tell. In all these years I've just enjoyed the song even though the story doesn't really seem to go anywhere in particular.
I think he did say that it was about a night of heavy drinking before, during, and after their performance. The miller and the woman turning so pale refer to Chaucer's Canterbury tales, which I really have to get around to reading one of these days.
I was stunned by this version; one aspect being that his voice had matured and filled with age. One minus in it is that I feel that the choral arrangement was a little over the top!
As absolutely beautiful as this live version is I still have to go with the studio version and the haunting sound of the organ. As for the story Apparently the miller told her something about the man she has been dancing the fandango (A mating dance with castanets) and she realizes that it is a mistake to be with him. Interview with the writer - “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.”
Its from a concert in Denmark, its the Danmarks Radio symfoni orkester (the Danish Radio symphoni orcestra) playing with Procol Harum, they make concerts every year with different artists at the same place
To get an idea of how "big" this song is look it up on wikipedia..sold over 10,000,000 globally, putting it in the top 40 or so songs to have achieved this feat !... And this performance is "Perfection" his voice, the orchestra, the choir , location , everything its Perfection
It's nice to see young people appreciating the music I grew up with. We had so many great vocalists that sang WITHOUT auto-tune . Just pure talent, passion and soul.
One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. In the years since, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has become an enduring classic, with more than 1,000 known cover versions by other artists. Oh, and the name Procol Harum came from a friend's pedigree Siamese cat. The band members liked the name, so they used it.
Gary Booker just passed away back at first of this year. God bless an God speed brother. An the man sang that song better at this event than when he was a young man in the sixty's.
One of the most iconic songs from the 60's. RIP Gary Booker who was an amazing singer even in his later years. This performance was the best ever. Thank you ladies. Good analysis of the song. Thank you. 🙏☮❤
All written by an English man back in 1387-1400 the canterberry tales. Made of a volume of short stories. One of the books is title "The Miller's Tale" I have been listening to Procol Harum for 50 years Mr Gary Brooker past away February 19 2022
Incidentally, Gary Brooker (the Procol Harum singer) was another ‘name’ who collaborated with Kate Bush. He played keyboard/Hammond Organ on a few of her songs.
This is the first reaction video - to this performance -where the reactor knew when the vocalist came in. Indeed, many reactors were totally surprised when the singer appeared thinking by then that it was an instrumental piece of music. SO, I guess the younger woman must have read up in the performance beforehand OR had even watched previously.
Nope. First time hearing this song and performance. I could tell by how the orchestra was changing and slowing down, that it was a natural break and possible switch up in the song. I never thought it was an instrumental piece because the thumbnail of the performance was a man sitting at a piano and singing into a mic. We have been told many times in previous videos to pause at more natural parts of the songs, so when the instruments started winding down I thought that was a good time to pause and make a comment.
Great reaction. this is my favourite song from the 1960s, I first heard it as a 15 year old and each time I hear it it gives me goosebumps. I have never really understood the lyrics, but I don't care as I just love it.
One of the more distinct features of Procol Harum is that they have a member who only does the writing. I understood he tried to create an ambience like a Dali painting. Also Procol Harum has one of its roots in classical music (the other is blues); in this song they used Bach as basis.
The original was released in 1967, and the most amazing thing is how little Gary Brooker's voice had changed in all that time. As a 22yr-old in 1967, he had a mature voice even then. You really should do a reaction to the original for comparison's sake. The meaning of the lyrics has remained a subject for debate over the decades, with apocryphal stories, literary assurances, and lyricist's denials leaving it a mystery. What remains is a sentiment in keeping with what Freddie Mercury said about "Bohemian Rhapsody", that it's really up to each person to interpret as they please and by so doing it makes the song personal to each listener. The tune itself was a misremembering of a Bach piece, which created a unique song with a classical feel to it. This was a foundation for a style that came to be known as 'progressive rock'. Going by what Gary Brooker said, it was just chance that the lyrics (one of two sets messengered to him that morning) were matched to the Bach-ish tune he was composing at home. But the meaning of the lyrics can never be exactly known. What can be said is the lyrics work perfectly with the music to make a 'mood', which is often a characteristic of particularly artistic-based progressive rock. This video of Brooker performing at a Danish music festival is so perfect and beautiful...RIP Gary. By the way, not necessarily for reaction video, but for your personal enjoyment, you should listen to Procol Harum's "A Salty Dog", another 'mood' piece with some ambiguity in the lyrics, but it's set in 19th Century ship culture, wooden ships years at sea. It was released as a concept album in 1969 with orchestration backing. It really is worth a listen.
Basically it is a couple falling out of love and the man doesn't see what the woman means so his eyes might as well been closed. This has always been one of my favorite songs .
Go back and listen to the 1960's version. Hard to believe, but I actually grew up in the 60's, 70's. An incredible experience! Especially since I grew up in San Francisco. Time indeed flies by. I'm actually grandpa old!!!
Imagine the equivalent of a surrealist painting in rock music. This is it. Parts of scenes showing faces turning pale from around 1385 (the Millers Tale) onwards.
"Her face at first just ghostly turned a whiter shade of pale." Accordion to one story I heard, Gary Booker overhead someone use that phrase at a cocktail party. And thus genus is created.
the best live performance ever for this song originally sang in the late 60s. Gary Booker is 60 years old here. sad to say he passed away on February 19, 2022 at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer.
A Whiter Shade Of Pale By Procol Harum is a classic song from the late 60's. I've heard it many times but never seen it performed live and accompanied by an orchestra. This was really good.
I was going to see them here in Cambridge UK about 1967 but they were exhausted due to their tour. So we saw a replacement group: The Jeff Beck Group. Jeff Beck (ex Yardbirds) , Ronnie Wood (now Rolling Stones), Aynsley Dunbar (very well known drummer) and Rod Stewart as lead singer!! Pretty good replacement group! Saw some amazing groups here in Cambridge in the’60’s.
They meet and Skip the lights fandango which is the mating dance you might be familiar with with the woman having castanets, When she finds out from the bartender (The Miller) that she made a mistake about the man , her ghostly face turns a whiter shade of pale. From an interview with the writer. “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.”
Grandma used to call it flushed! When all the blood seems to drain from your body! My first slow dance my first love to this song ! Summer 1967! I remember, father was Navy I was 14 island of Guam! Later that night she told me she would be returning to the States! Her father's tour was over! I remember! Knowing we would probably never see one another again! Both our faces turned a whiter shade of pale!💔! Thank you for this wonderful memory!❤! Yep stepped on her foot!☺! We never saw one another again, but I hope she remembers when herring this song!🥰 And had a Beautiful life!❤❤❤
I'm old enough to remember parties in the 60s. When came the last dance they would often play a slow, sentimental song like "Unchained Melody" (Righteous Brothers), "The Long & Winding Road" (Beatles) or this beautiful song by Procol Harum. Even without lyrics, it still stirs the soul and is full of longing. There is something sacred, almost religious about that tune, maybe because it resembles the music of Bach. A timeless song indeed.
From the same concert, the song "Conquistador," without doubt, the best song Procol Harum ever made, so much so, when they released it, in August 1972, l bought it the next day. It has been reacted to only once on TH-cam, that l can see. Make sure you are the second, you will love it.
Thank you ladies, this rendition is perfect. I watch it almost every day for two reasons. One, it is a great performance of Whiter shade of pale, and two, the oboe at 1.35 brings back memories of a dear friend. I will probably listen again tomorrow. Lee.
Further info, this is one of the most important songs in Rock history! It marked the transition of Rock from a fluffier thing in an artistic endeavor! The lyrics and their meaning have been analyzed and gone over for decades! Notice the lack of a rhyming of the lyrics! It’s neither linear or vertical but 4 dimensional!
Gary passed away not so long ago.😞 a wonderful man, working class northern (UK) lad who never forgot his roots, he will be sorely missed R.I.P. Gary..❤️
Hello Ladies ! yes many years ! i ve known that band since the early 70s ! There s so many other great songs ! i hope you listen to all the other ones ! he s like the captain of a ship ! definately one of my best bands ! And the organ is the famous Hammond B-3 wich is the best organ sound ! most rock bands play with that !
Every time I see this, I am blown away by how Gary Brooker's voice never changed with age. If anything, the years help him add emotion that his young self couldn't quite match. Btw, this was a hit in 1967!! RIP, Gary.
The castle is not in the middle of the woods, however it is fairly big castle with lots of land, there are rolling hills, and a tree lined road that leads up to the castle. It is located about 25-30 miles in land from Copenhagen.
The orchestra behind is the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir. The concert is one of Ledreborg Castle Concerts where the orchestra is celebrating the summer season. Try to listen to the theme from Once upon a time in the west from this orchestra ...
This is one of the best live performances.....EVER🎼!! As others have noted, their lead singer is Gary Brooker, who passed away in Feb from cancer at the age of 76. Please do listen to the original sometime when you get a chance, as his voice sounds the same then in 1967🎤.
It seems almost incomprehensible to me that there are people out there who have not heard Whiter Shade of Pale. I am also jealous of the pleasure of hearing it for the first time as to me and my generation it is a classic that has been flogged to death so much you become complacent as to its genius.
I was born and raised in Denmark. I'm of the sixties generation (I was a teenager and in my twenties then) I have loved this song since I first heard it in the late sixties. However, this version is my favorite, the castle where the concert takes place is close to where set of my grandparents lived, I have been by there many times.
Being quite old, I remember this when it first came out in 1967 - a non-orchestrated version that became one of those songs that is part of the backdrop of one’s life. Then a few years ago I found this masterpiece of a rendition on TH-cam and the song acquired new meaning to me, as it has for many, I think. Gary Brooker absolutely nails it - amazing, so many years after he first sang these words about the Miller telling his tale. When I heard last year that Procul Harum were doing a kind of farewell tour I was among the first to buy tickets for their show in London. Then came the news that we’d been dreading - the concerts were postponed because Gary was ill. We’d known that for some time. But still we clung onto hope. Then in February this year we learned that the concerts would never happen, as Gary had skipped his last fandango at the age of 76. But what a great legacy.
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Having grown up hearing the original I believe this is the most beautiful version and also one of the best live performances of any song I have ever heard.
Yes
agree one of best live performances i ever seen besides any NIGHTWISH live performance
Totally agree.
Same...lump in my throat every time.
I can't agree more!
This is a masterpiece. It is an anthem I remember from the 1960's beautifully sung by the wonderful Gary Brooker who was lost to the world in February this year. RIP legend!
Yes I believe Gary Brooker was the original singer of the song.
@@zella417bcarter9 Yes that is correct. It's pretty amazing that he still had such power in his voice when singing at this concert all these years later. A wonderful version of that 1967 classic number one hit.
I'll always remember it because he passed away on my birthday, February 19.
Gary Brooker pianist was the lead singer of the group Procol Harum. Sadly he passed away in early 2022. Thankfully though he left us with this beautiful memory.
When that Hammond organ comes in with that iconic sound. Ah, days of my youth!
That Hammond B-3 just hits different 😆
That Hammond B-3 just hits different 😅
with the Leslie speakers, iconic
I was their
I was only 19 with my dad and it was magical. We were on the hill watching over the stream.
Life changing.
Best live performance of a song ever. ❤
The moment you realise how cool your grandparents where
Saw Gary Brooker open for Eric Clapton maybe 35 yrs ago.....he sat and sand this song 20 feet in front of me....amazing.....
The lyrics were based on the Miller's Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, where the carpenter's wife was accused of having an affair. She then turned 'a whiter shade of pale' at being found out.
That makes the most sense that I’ve ever heard about this song’s lyrics. Always loved the song, but could never quite get all the lyrics, nor the genius connection to Chaucer. Thanks for sharing.
There is definitely a link to Chaucer. But many believe there is more to it than that. Gary Brooker himself was not too forthcoming when asked about the lyrics.
@@pigknuckle1 I never tried to fully understand the literal meaning of the lyrics, I just felt the feel of the song. When I don't get all the lyrics or all the meaning, I enjoy learning it bit by bit over the years, it keeps the song fresh for me.
Someday I'm going to read Chaucer!
Quote from an interview with the writer. - “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.” Skip the lights fandango is the mating dance you might be familiar with were the woman plays castanets. The Miller in this story is the bartender informing the woman about the man and her ghostly face turns a Whiter Shade of pale.
The addition of the orchestra and choir turned this short story into an epic novel.
Gary Brooker's voice has only improved with age; and this is as good as it gets. I've loved this since my teens. Absolutely superb. I believe he did the orchestration himself.
He passed away in Feb. of this year. And yes, his voice only got better with age.
One of my favourite songs of the 60's. It is so haunting. They had another minor hit in the 70's called Conquistador. One you should react to.
@@SandraBeaumont-oh2hp 100%!
Paul McCartney once said this was his favorite song from the 1960s.
So did John Lennon. And Ringo Starr. I don't know what George thought but 3 out of 4 of the Beatles in the bag is a fairly good start. Simply the most beautiful song ever recorded. And while I still prefer the original, this live version is just astonishingly good.
60's music is just incredible, I don't think that there will be another decade like that ever
unfortunately most people miss the fact that the music in this song was written by Bach - I believe it was called dreamers awake or dreamers arise.
Not as long as autotune exists.
Simply one of the finest live performances ever recorded. Period.
This is the greatest live version of this song. Am glad he gave it to us before he passed away. 8 years old when I first heard it back in 67. I remember cause it made me cry my mom laughed. Telling me it's only a song. It's making me feel sad. But I am right back there in that moment whenever I hear it.
This is one of the most magical tunes ever composed, JS Bach & Procol Harum
I loved this song in the 60's, but this performance was on another level. RIP Gary Brooker.
He was in his 60s when he sang this, his voice hadn't really changed over the years. A true artist. Along with Comfortable Numb always brings tears to my eyes.
@ba-gg6jo Actually, it had got better with age. It developed more depth and timbre with maturity and experience!
I've been a musician for over 50 years and have heard this song since it was new. It was just played on a Hammond B-3 organ without the orchestra. The melody is hauntingly beautiful as is the chord progression. The first time (and every other time) I heard this version with the orchestra it brought a tear to my eye because it was so beautiful. The somber mood is associated with songs in minor keys in general but I don't think the message is necessarily sad or negative. He describes a night in a bar where he'd had too much to drink and felt a little "seasick" but the crowd called out for more so apparently, he was performing. They called out for another drink and the waiter brought a tray. It doesn't explain who the woman was but she seemed to turn from ghostly to a whiter shade of pale based on the miller's tale. There is no mention of a relationship as far as I can tell. In all these years I've just enjoyed the song even though the story doesn't really seem to go anywhere in particular.
I think he did say that it was about a night of heavy drinking before, during, and after their performance. The miller and the woman turning so pale refer to Chaucer's Canterbury tales, which I really have to get around to reading one of these days.
I was stunned by this version; one aspect being that his voice had matured and filled with age. One minus in it is that I feel that the choral arrangement was a little over the top!
As absolutely beautiful as this live version is I still have to go with the studio version and the haunting sound of the organ. As for the story Apparently the miller told her something about the man she has been dancing the fandango (A mating dance with castanets) and she realizes that it is a mistake to be with him. Interview with the writer - “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.”
@@oldmanghost219 Thanks
Its from a concert in Denmark, its the Danmarks Radio symfoni orkester (the Danish Radio symphoni orcestra) playing with Procol Harum, they make concerts every year with different artists at the same place
One of the best pop song ever wrote
To get an idea of how "big" this song is look it up on wikipedia..sold over 10,000,000 globally, putting it in the top 40 or so songs to have achieved this feat !...
And this performance is "Perfection" his voice, the orchestra, the choir , location , everything its Perfection
If anyone out there wants to write lyrics about romance without being cheesy/clichéd/dumb, this right here is your masterclass. RIP Keith Reid.
It's nice to see young people appreciating the music I grew up with. We had so many great vocalists that sang WITHOUT auto-tune . Just pure talent, passion and soul.
RIP Gary Brooker and thank you.
I believe John Lennon said this was the most beautiful song ever written
This song was no 1 just about all over the world ,not sure how it charged in America . This song will be played and played over years to come .😎
It amazes me is he had this voice when he was 25 .
One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. In the years since, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has become an enduring classic, with more than 1,000 known cover versions by other artists. Oh, and the name Procol Harum came from a friend's pedigree Siamese cat. The band members liked the name, so they used it.
John Lennon would have his driver drive him around in his Rolls Roy ace and play this over and over when it came out...one of his favorite songs.
Gary Booker just passed away back at first of this year. God bless an God speed brother. An the man sang that song better at this event than when he was a young man in the sixty's.
One of the most iconic songs from the 60's. RIP Gary Booker who was an amazing singer even in his later years. This performance was the best ever. Thank you ladies. Good analysis of the song. Thank you. 🙏☮❤
One of the most iconic songs of the '60's. Brilliant song and an amazing singer. RIP Gary
That absolutely was one of the best arrangements of any song that you'll ever hear...
All written by an English man back in 1387-1400 the canterberry tales. Made of a volume of short stories. One of the books is title "The Miller's Tale" I have been listening to Procol Harum for 50 years Mr Gary Brooker past away February 19 2022
The orchestral opening had me thinking a string and oboe concerto, added to Gary's best ever effort here is my new favorite, all time.
This is the best recording of this song I've heard.
whoever put the arrangment together was spot on
Incidentally, Gary Brooker (the Procol Harum singer) was another ‘name’ who collaborated with Kate Bush. He played keyboard/Hammond Organ on a few of her songs.
This is the first reaction video - to this performance -where the reactor knew when the vocalist came in. Indeed, many reactors were totally surprised when the singer appeared thinking by then that it was an instrumental piece of music. SO, I guess the younger woman must have read up in the performance beforehand OR had even watched previously.
Nope. First time hearing this song and performance. I could tell by how the orchestra was changing and slowing down, that it was a natural break and possible switch up in the song. I never thought it was an instrumental piece because the thumbnail of the performance was a man sitting at a piano and singing into a mic. We have been told many times in previous videos to pause at more natural parts of the songs, so when the instruments started winding down I thought that was a good time to pause and make a comment.
I came into my adult life with this song as my carpet ride. It never ever gets old ....
Great reaction. this is my favourite song from the 1960s, I first heard it as a 15 year old and each time I hear it it gives me goosebumps. I have never really understood the lyrics, but I don't care as I just love it.
One of the more distinct features of Procol Harum is that they have a member who only does the writing. I understood he tried to create an ambience like a Dali painting. Also Procol Harum has one of its roots in classical music (the other is blues); in this song they used Bach as basis.
Song was everywhere during the Summer of Love. The original featured Matthew Fisher on organ.
The original was released in 1967, and the most amazing thing is how little Gary Brooker's voice had changed in all that time. As a 22yr-old in 1967, he had a mature voice even then. You really should do a reaction to the original for comparison's sake.
The meaning of the lyrics has remained a subject for debate over the decades, with apocryphal stories, literary assurances, and lyricist's denials leaving it a mystery. What remains is a sentiment in keeping with what Freddie Mercury said about "Bohemian Rhapsody", that it's really up to each person to interpret as they please and by so doing it makes the song personal to each listener.
The tune itself was a misremembering of a Bach piece, which created a unique song with a classical feel to it. This was a foundation for a style that came to be known as 'progressive rock'. Going by what Gary Brooker said, it was just chance that the lyrics (one of two sets messengered to him that morning) were matched to the Bach-ish tune he was composing at home. But the meaning of the lyrics can never be exactly known. What can be said is the lyrics work perfectly with the music to make a 'mood', which is often a characteristic of particularly artistic-based progressive rock.
This video of Brooker performing at a Danish music festival is so perfect and beautiful...RIP Gary.
By the way, not necessarily for reaction video, but for your personal enjoyment, you should listen to Procol Harum's "A Salty Dog", another 'mood' piece with some ambiguity in the lyrics, but it's set in 19th Century ship culture, wooden ships years at sea. It was released as a concept album in 1969 with orchestration backing. It really is worth a listen.
Basically it is a couple falling out of love and the man doesn't see what the woman means so his eyes might as well been closed. This has always been one of my favorite songs .
Go back and listen to the 1960's version. Hard to believe, but I actually grew up in the 60's, 70's. An incredible experience! Especially since I grew up in San Francisco. Time indeed flies by. I'm actually grandpa old!!!
The best rock song ever , quote by John Lennon
R.I.P. the lead singer of Procul harem who sadly passed away in february 2022.🙏
Imagine the equivalent of a surrealist painting in rock music. This is it.
Parts of scenes showing faces turning pale from around 1385 (the Millers Tale) onwards.
It's amazing what you can do with great music.
This is better than the hit in 67. RIP Gary Booker.
His voice never failed him...R.I.P.
"Her face at first just ghostly turned a whiter shade of pale." Accordion to one story I heard, Gary Booker overhead someone use that phrase at a cocktail party. And thus genus is created.
the best live performance ever for this song originally sang in the late 60s. Gary Booker is 60 years old here. sad to say he passed away on February 19, 2022 at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer.
A Whiter Shade Of Pale By Procol Harum is a classic song from the late 60's. I've heard it many times but never seen it performed live and accompanied by an orchestra. This was really good.
Beautiful rendition of this song. Sadly the singer Gary Brooker passed away earlier this year.
I was going to see them here in Cambridge UK about 1967 but they were exhausted due to their tour. So we saw a replacement group: The Jeff Beck Group. Jeff Beck (ex Yardbirds) , Ronnie Wood (now Rolling Stones), Aynsley Dunbar (very well known drummer) and Rod Stewart as lead singer!! Pretty good replacement group! Saw some amazing groups here in Cambridge in the’60’s.
It's hauntingly beautiful.
You should really listen to the original studio version as well. Good job
Best version of this song ever
It's hard to believe they released that song in 1967. And, he could still belt it out like that, all those years later.
They meet and Skip the lights fandango which is the mating dance you might be familiar with with the woman having castanets, When she finds out from the bartender (The Miller) that she made a mistake about the man , her ghostly face turns a whiter shade of pale. From an interview with the writer. “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.”
One of the greatest songs ever, this live performance takes it to a new level
Grandma used to call it flushed! When all the blood seems to drain from your body! My first slow dance my first love to this song ! Summer 1967! I remember, father was Navy I was 14 island of Guam! Later that night she told me she would be returning to the States! Her father's tour was over! I remember! Knowing we would probably never see one another again! Both our faces turned a whiter shade of pale!💔! Thank you for this wonderful memory!❤! Yep stepped on her foot!☺! We never saw one another again, but I hope she remembers when herring this song!🥰 And had a Beautiful life!❤❤❤
I'm old enough to remember parties in the 60s. When came the last dance they would often play a slow, sentimental song like "Unchained Melody" (Righteous Brothers), "The Long & Winding Road" (Beatles) or this beautiful song by Procol Harum. Even without lyrics, it still stirs the soul and is full of longing. There is something sacred, almost religious about that tune, maybe because it resembles the music of Bach. A timeless song indeed.
From the same concert, the song "Conquistador," without doubt, the best song Procol Harum ever made, so much so, when they released it, in August 1972, l bought it the next day. It has been reacted to only once on TH-cam, that l can see. Make sure you are the second, you will love it.
He is amazing! Love this. Love your reactions!
Thank you ladies, this rendition is perfect. I watch it almost every day for two reasons. One, it is a great performance of Whiter shade of pale, and two, the oboe at 1.35 brings back memories of a dear friend. I will probably listen again tomorrow. Lee.
My kind of music too. Great song and group. Great performance. Transformative.
RIP Gary Booker, another legend taken from us too soon.
Further info, this is one of the most important songs in Rock history! It marked the transition of Rock from a fluffier thing in an artistic endeavor! The lyrics and their meaning have been analyzed and gone over for decades! Notice the lack of a rhyming of the lyrics! It’s neither linear or vertical but 4 dimensional!
Gary passed away not so long ago.😞 a wonderful man, working class northern (UK) lad who never forgot his roots, he will be sorely missed R.I.P. Gary..❤️
Well Northern London anyway...but you were right about everything else 😉😊🥰
@@eddhardy1054 😳 so he was..😳 for a minute there I was thinking Dire Straits neck of the woods 🙄 I bet ya his granny was Irish though...😄😄😄
@@annettemoore7264 almost certainly 😊
RIP Gary Brooker and thank you🙏 You certainly left your mark on this world 👍
Such a lovely song. And this happens to be my favorite performance of it. That voice. Gary Brooker. RIP
RIP gary booker. sadly taken from us earlier this year ..thank you for the music
Hello Ladies ! yes many years ! i ve known that band since the early 70s ! There s so many other great songs ! i hope you listen to all the other ones ! he s like the captain of a ship ! definately one of my best bands ! And the organ is the famous Hammond B-3 wich is the best organ sound ! most rock bands play with that !
Every time I see this, I am blown away by how Gary Brooker's voice never changed with age. If anything, the years help him add emotion that his young self couldn't quite match. Btw, this was a hit in 1967!! RIP, Gary.
I love how you 2 lovely ladies keep picking some of my favourite songs for you videos. Keep up the good work! David x
One of my all time favorite songs for over 50 years! So glad I grew up in the era of music like this. RIP Gary Booker
I was at that concert, one of the best musical experiences of my life.
rip brooker, one of the greatest songs ever
The castle is not in the middle of the woods, however it is fairly big castle with lots of land, there are rolling hills, and a tree lined road that leads up to the castle. It is located about 25-30 miles in land from Copenhagen.
R.I.P Gary Brooker such a talent that left us on Feb. 19, 2022. 😓💔
Chillbumps. Gary's voice sounds better than in the 60s. RIP Gary
The orchestra behind is the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir. The concert is one of Ledreborg Castle Concerts where the orchestra is celebrating the summer season. Try to listen to the theme from Once upon a time in the west from this orchestra ...
This is one of the best live performances.....EVER🎼!! As others have noted, their lead singer is Gary Brooker, who passed away in Feb from cancer at the age of 76. Please do listen to the original sometime when you get a chance, as his voice sounds the same then in 1967🎤.
Thank you for checking this out. It certainly goes on my list of 10 greatest songs of all time. And this version is a masterpiece.
It seems almost incomprehensible to me that there are people out there who have not heard Whiter Shade of Pale.
I am also jealous of the pleasure of hearing it for the first time as to me and my generation it is a classic that has been flogged to death so much you become complacent as to its genius.
Till this day I don't know what this song is about! But I treasure it, since it first hit the airways!
thankyou ladies for playing this song i lost my mum to liver cancer 15 years ago this week and this was her all time favourite song so thankyou
This brings back some great moments in the 60's and 70's. My first slowdance, my first real kiss. Mmmmm...those times were totally wonderful
This has been the greatest since 1967 !
I was born and raised in Denmark. I'm of the sixties generation (I was a teenager and in my twenties then) I have loved this song since I first heard it in the late sixties. However, this version is my favorite, the castle where the concert takes place is close to where set of my grandparents lived, I have been by there many times.
A genuine masterpiece.
A Salty Dog and Conquistador same concert is a must listen.
Him and his voice have aged well. He sounds better then when he first sang this song.
Being quite old, I remember this when it first came out in 1967 - a non-orchestrated version that became one of those songs that is part of the backdrop of one’s life.
Then a few years ago I found this masterpiece of a rendition on TH-cam and the song acquired new meaning to me, as it has for many, I think. Gary Brooker absolutely nails it - amazing, so many years after he first sang these words about the Miller telling his tale.
When I heard last year that Procul Harum were doing a kind of farewell tour I was among the first to buy tickets for their show in London.
Then came the news that we’d been dreading - the concerts were postponed because Gary was ill. We’d known that for some time. But still we clung onto hope.
Then in February this year we learned that the concerts would never happen, as Gary had skipped his last fandango at the age of 76.
But what a great legacy.
And so it goes another angel flew back to heaven.
Beautifully put, Mark. I was 12 when this was originally released and it has been a part of the soundtrack of my life ever since.
One f the first bands I saw live, I wish I could have seen him when Gary Brooker did again 50 years later.. Rip
One of my favourite songs of all time and one of the best songs ever written ❤️