Procol Harum Biography
Procol Harum are GARY BROOKER and KEITH REID, complimented over their 40 year career by definable ‘classic’ group line-ups. Procol Harum was designed as the core vehicle for Reid’s words and Brooker’s music.
The most famous ‘classic’ Sixties line-up featured Gary alongside Robin Trower (guitar), Barrie ‘BJ’ Wilson (drums), Dave Knights (drums) & Matthew Fisher (organ).
The Sixties embraced an exciting underground movement – a celebration of music and a feeling of togetherness between artists and their fans - in the middle of which was Procol Harum. But as the the sun set on the Summer of Love, Procol managed to maintain an independence from fashion, trends and peer group association, choosing to craft ambitious songs that connected with fans through their intelligence, companionship and somewhat overlooked dark humour too.
‘Meteoric’ is an overused adjective, but in Procol Harum’s case, is apt and earned, as their very first recording, released as a single, broke sales records on release, and 40 years on remains unsurpassed as the most played record in the UK (source : PPL).
Brooker & Reid, conceived ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ at the very outset of their writing partnership and friendship, having been encouraged to collaborate by record producer / DJ / label manager GUY STEVENS. ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ was further developed as a song by Procol Harum as the band’s recording became the watershed of 1967’s ‘Summer Of Love’ when Pop became Rock, simultaneously accessible to every one whilst retaining a lyrical surrealism that redefined Pop from disposable to cultural.
Ironically the group’s poeticism which weaved classical motifs and grand themes gave them a ‘Progressive’ tag, which undervalues the notion that their major hit was in essence a mysterious Soul Ballad, and the soul of their music is steeped in Rhythm & Blues.
Brooker & Reid continue to write songs together, whilst Procol Harum 'the group' still record and spellbind their fans with intoxicating live performances of their new and treasured collection of songs.
BEGINNINGS
Pianist Gary Brooker (b. May 29, 1945, Hackney, London, England) had been in groups since his schooldays, and formed The Paramounts in his teens whilst residing in Southend, Essex. With guitarist Robin Trower, bassist Chris Copping), singer Bob Scott and drummer Mick Brownlee, The Paramounts acquired a reputation for formidable (by British standards) covers of US Rhythm & Blues and Rock'n'Roll tunes.
Drummer Barry J. (BJ) Wilson, auditioned after answering an ad in Melody Maker in September of 1963, replacing Brownlee, whilst bassist Chris Copping opted out of the music business to attend Leicester University, and was replaced by Diz Derrick.
In 1963 The Paramounts demo record, consisting of covers of the Coasters "Poison Ivy" and Bobby Bland’s "Farther on up the Road," got them an audition at EMI and a subsequent deal with Parlophone Records.
"Poison Ivy", their first single, was released in January of 1964 and reached number 35 on the British charts. The Rolling Stones endorsed the Paramounts as their favourite British R&B band, and the group were managed by The Beatles' management, NEMS, ultimately supporting the Fab four on their final UK tour in December 1965.
By mid-'66, the Paramounts had been reduced to serving as a backing band for artists such as Sandie Shaw and Chris Andrews, and called it a day in September 1966 with Derrick quitting the music business, Trower and BJ moving to other bands. Gary Brooker knew a key strength of The Paramounts - like the Stones - was the choice of covers they performed. But times had changed, and now the original versions were being imported and were no longer the sole preserve of Guy Stevens and his circle. Once DJs had access to the original records, cover bands could not compete. Gary decided the best move would be to develop his career as a songwriter.
Brooker’s passion for American R&B had led to a friendship with GUY STEVENS, the DJ who held a Monday night weekly residency at The Scene Club in Soho, a magnet for all R&B enthusiasts, fans and artists alike. Stevens is revered to this day and his stewardship of Chris Blackwell’s (British) Sue Record label is a key part of Sixties music legend. Guy knew a young poet, Keith Reid (b. Oct. 19, 1946, Hertfordshire), and introduced him to Gary with a view to them collaborating to write songs.
A WHITER SHADE OF PALE
The early fruits of Brooker & Reid’s association were promising, but amidst their earliest songs was an embryonic foundation for ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’.
Having begun producing records in 1965, Stevens commenced sessions at the end of 1966 recording Gary and Keith's early songs in the company of musicians who were living in Guy’s flat at the time, amongst them Dave Knights and guitarist Richard Brown. Legend has it that Stevens had left an acetate of the demo for original version ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ on Chris Blackwell’s desk, but absorbed with his protégé Steve Winwood, it lay gathering dust.
By the spring of 1967, they had a considerable body of songs prepared and began looking for a band to play them. An advertisement in Melody Maker led to the formation of a band initially called THE PINEWOODS with Brooker as pianist/singer, Matthew Fisher on organ, Ray Royer on guitar, Dave Knights on bass, and Bobby Harrison on drums. Keith Reid had played publisher David Platz (Essex Music) the original demo for ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’, and Platz in turn introduced the band to record producer Denny Cordell, who A&R'd their joint production company New Breed Productions. Cordell had struck a number of hits, including British number one singles for The Moody Blues (‘Go Now’) and Georgie Fame (‘Getaway’), and was making waves with New Breed's releases via a licensing deal with DECCA.
Reid & Stevens had tried co-managing the band, but differences became unsurmountable and Stevens was busted whilst in the company of Brian Jones. Cordell & Platz signed up the band and Cordell recorded a new version of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", but insisted on using Georgie Fame’s drummer Bill Eyden for the session, who Cordell used for Memphis Soul style Eyden had developed.
By the time this recording was ready for release, the Pinewoods had been re-christened Procol Harum, a name coined from Guy Stevens pedigree cat, Procol Harun.
Deram's Tony Hall handled promotions and arranged for Radio London one of England's legendary off-shore pirate radio stations (they competed with the BBC, and were infinitely more beloved by the teenagers and most bands) to give it a trail play on the airwaves. The response was instant and overwhelming. Deram suddenly found itself with orders for a record not scheduled for release for another month - before May was half over, it was pushed up on the schedule and rushed into shops.
Procol Harum opened for Jimi Hendrix at the Saville Theater, London, on June 4, 1967, and four days later, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached the top of the British charts for the first of a six-week run in the top spot, making Procol Harum only the sixth recording act in the history of British popular music to reach the number one spot on its first release. The following month, the record reached number five on the American charts, with sales in the United States rising to over a million copies (and reputedly, six million copies worldwide).
ENTER TROWER AND BJ
All of this seemed to bode well for the band, but having recorded most of their debut album, just as their single peaked in the United States, Royer and Harrison were dismissed. Brooker’s former Paramounts band-mates, Robin Trower (guitar) and B.J. Wilson (drums) were enlisted and rapidly began re-recording the album. As the band busied themselves in the studio, their producer (Cordell) and publisher (Platz) had set up STRAIGHT AHEAD PRODUCTIONS and negotiated a new deal with EMI whereby they A&R’d the Regal Zonophone label – in effect a bespoke label for their artists.
The "classic" Procol Harum band was now in place and a second single, "Homburg," was duly (re-)recorded. Somewhat reminiscent of "A Whiter Shade of Pale", this single, released in October of 1967, got to number six in the British charts.
With an iconic cover, designed by Keith Reid’s girlfriend, Dickinson, their eponymous debut album was released internationally, at different times in territories and with differing track-listings. In America it peaked at 46, having included their big hit single, but the British version of the LP, issued without the hit (common practice for groups at the time), failed to attract any significant sales.
On March 26, 1968, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" won the International Song of the Year award at the 13th Annual Ivor Novello Awards. The group's next single, another re-recording of a 1967 song, "Quite Rightly So," only reached number 50 in Britain on release in April. Cordell had secured a deal with the burgeoning A&M Records in America, and their second album, ‘Shine on Brightly’, released in September, reached number 24 in America, but again failed to chart in England upon release in December. The album's magnus opus was a suite entitled 'In Held Twas I', co-produced by Tony Visconti, as regular producer Cordell was focused almost exclusively on his protege Joe Cocker, for whom he had arranged a career-changing slot in the line up for Woodstock.
In December Procol were playing the Miami Pop Festival in front of 100,000 people, on a bill that included, among others Chuck Berry, Canned Heat, (Peter Green's) Fleetwood Mac and the Turtles. Whilst in LA they recorded demos for their next album, the session producer was Fisher.
In March of 1969, David Knights and Matthew Fisher left as soon as completing work on Procol's next album, preferring management and production to the performing side of the music business. Knights departure opened the way for bassist Chris Copping to join Procol Harum (thus re-creating the lineup of the Paramounts , playing bass and organ). Matthew Fisher's stately, cathedral-like organ-playing had been a seminal part of the band's sound, juxtaposed with Trower’s bluesy licks and Reid’s leftfield, darkly witty lyrics as voiced by the honey toned Brooker. In June of 1969 ‘A Salty Dog’ was issued, its title track became one of the group's most popular songs.
As recording started for their next album, Fisher was again enlisted as producer, but after a handful of tracks were left unfinished and aborted, Fisher exited, George Martin was approached and even rumoured to have recorded some early sessions. Martin's AIR Studios production assistant Chris Thomas, fresh from his first Producer job for the Climax Blues Band, picked up the reigns, and with a tight budget the record captures the band sounding very ‘live’ and without any organ parts of note, a stripped down rootsy sounding set was delivered. It is considered by many (including the absent Matthew Fisher) to be the group's best work.
From the opening drive-time riff-crunching rocker “Whisky Train” (co-written by Trower & Reid, serving as a template for Trower’s forthcoming successful solo career) through to the melancholy of ‘Barnyard Story’, it returned the band to the U.S. charts at number 32, while “Whisky Train” ascended the British charts to number 44. The album subsequently reached number 27 in Britain, the group's first long-player to chart in their own country.
Despite the group's moderate sales in England and America, they remained among the more popular rock bands, if somewhat inaccurately labelled Progressive. With Robin Trower's emotive guitar work and singer/pianist Brooker vocal integrity they continued to forge an individual pathway. Following Fisher’s departure, Trower’s playing came more to the fore and there were less classical motifs and more space for Brooker to employ his emotively soulful vocals.
It was a year before their next album Home was released, in June of 1970, ascending to the American number 34 and the British 49 spot. This marked the end of the group's contract with their production company Straight Ahead Productions, who released their records via EMI’s Regal Zonophone imprint.
EXIT TROWER
By the release of their next LP in July of 1971 they were on Chrysalis in England. Broken Barricades reached number 32 in America and 41 in England, but it also marked the departure of Robin Trower. The founding guitarist left that month and subsequently organized his own group, with a sound modelled along lines similar to Jimi Hendrix which had great success in America throughout the 1970s.
Trower's replacement, Dave Ball, joined the same month and the lineup expanded by one with the addition of Alan Cartwright on bass, which freed Chris Copping to concentrate full-time on the organ. The group returned to something of the sound it had before Fisher s departure, although Trower was a tough act to follow. It was this version of the band that performed on August 6, 1971 in a concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the DaCamera Singers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada -- the concert was a bold and expansive, richly orchestrated re-consideration of earlier material and released as a live album in 1972, proving to be the group's most successful LP release, peaking at number 5 in the US and drawing in thousands of new fans.
In England, Fly Records’ reissued ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ as an EP, which returned the band’s popular tune to the singles charts, reaching number 13 in April 1972. ‘Procol Harum Live: In Concert With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’ only rose to number 48 in May of 1972, but it was competing with a reissue of the group's debut album (retitled A Whiter Shade of Pale with the single added) paired with A Salty Dog (on Fly Records TOOFA imprint) which outperformed it considerably, reaching number 26. A single lifted from the live record, "Conquistador," redone in a rich and dramatic version, shot to number 16 in America and 22 in England that summer, Soon after the U.S. distributor of the debut album, London Records got further play from that record by re-releasing it with a sticker announcing the presence of "the original version of "Conquistador."
Part 2 to follow…