"Procol Harum" (1967) Band Description:

I didn’t “discover” Procol Harum. They just… showed up. Usually late at night, usually on some slightly tired speakers, with that opening swell of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" drifting into the room like expensive cigarette smoke you never ordered.

They came out of Southend-on-Sea in 1967, built around Gary Brooker’s voice and piano, with Keith Reid writing the words that sound like they’re daring you to pretend you understand them on the first listen. Matthew Fisher’s Hammond organ did the rest: not “pretty” exactly—more like a cathedral got lost and wandered into a rock club. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

The funny part is how fast it all happened. They cut "A Whiter Shade of Pale" in April 1967, Deram rushed it out on 12 May, and by 8 June it was sitting at #1 in the UK for six weeks. In the US it climbed to #5—still massive, just not the “#1 everywhere” fairy tale people like to tell. It’s also one of those singles that simply refuses to die: more than 10 million sold worldwide, and it still turns up when you least expect it. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

The early line-up gets recited like scripture—Brooker, Reid, Fisher, Ray Royer, David Knights, Bobby Harrison—and sure, that’s the photo-caption version. The real story is messier (and better): session players on the debut single, line-up churn, and a band identity that stayed recognizable even as the faces shifted. Brooker and Reid were the spine. Everything else rearranged around them. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Their name? Not Latin mystery, not ancient prophecy—just a cat. A blue Burmese cat, pedigree “Procul Harun,” misheard and misspelled over the phone, which is honestly the most rock-band thing imaginable. Scholars can argue about the grammar; I’m on team “keep the mistake, it sounds better.” :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

After the big one, they didn’t try to remake it five hundred times (thankfully). "Homburg" has that stately, slightly bruised glide. "A Salty Dog" feels like sea air in your lungs. "Whiskey Train" kicks harder than people expect from a band lazily filed under “classy prog.” And "Pandora’s Box" is pure late-era bite, like they remembered they could still throw elbows. The hooks are there—just dressed in better clothes than most bands owned. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

The funniest resurrection is "Conquistador." The studio version was already on the 1967 debut, but the hit came later: the live recording with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, released in 1972, pushed it into the US Top 20 (often cited at #16). That’s the version that stomps—because it sounds like the band is picking a fight with its own elegance. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

People keep insisting Procol Harum are “important” (there’s that word again), and sure: you can draw a line from their baroque-leaning rock into chunks of prog and art rock that followed. But the real impact is simpler and more annoying: once you’ve heard that organ line and Brooker’s delivery, a lot of other “epic” bands start sounding like they’re trying too hard. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

One more correction for the record collectors and trivia snipers: the band wasn’t inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. What happened is more specific (and slightly cheeky): "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inducted into the Rock Hall’s Singles category that year. So yes, the song got the crown. The band, as usual, got the sideways glance. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

They kept going for decades, and the “last chapter” studio album is "Novum" (2017). By then it’s not the same band as 1967—nothing ever is—but the voice is still there, that same sense of dignity with a crack in it. Then Gary Brooker died in 2022, and the room got a little quieter. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

If you want the quick playlist that actually tells the story without the lecture: "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Homburg", "A Salty Dog", "Conquistador" (live), "Whiskey Train", "Pandora’s Box". Put it on in the evening. Not because it’s “iconic.” Because it still works.

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