At 76 years old
Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker has died
The music world mourns the loss of Gary Brooker. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
With “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” Procul Harum have written a hit for eternity. The band’s frontman was Gary Brooker.
The former singer of the British rock band Procol Harum, Gary Brooker, is dead. As the group announced on their website, Brooker died peacefully at his home last Saturday. The 76-year-old suffered from cancer.
Brooker’s first single as the band’s frontman, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” in 1967, was also Procol Harum’s biggest hit. The melancholic song, whose organ accompaniment was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, became one of the anthems of the “Summer of Love”, which marked the high point of the hippie movement. The single has sold more than ten million copies worldwide.
The band, which Brooker had fronted for more than 50 years, hailed him as someone of infectious kindness. “He was known for his individuality, integrity and occasional stubborn eccentricity,” it said.