The singer of the rock band, famous for the hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, has died at the age of 76.
“It is with immense regret that we must announce the death, on February 19, 2022, of Gary Brooker (…), singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a radiant and irreplaceable light in the music industry” , reports the press release posted on the official website of the British psychedelic rock band. “Aged 76, he was being treated for cancer, but died peacefully at home,” adds the same source.
The hit of the year 1967, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, became so popular that it somewhat obscured the name of the artist and that of his group, reports Télérama. Inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, the single topped the European and American charts and sold more than 10 million copies, recalls franceinfo. In general, Gary Brooker had recorded a series of albums among the most singular of the 1970s.
Many artistic collaborations
Born on May 29, 1945 in East London, the artist had learned to play the piano, guitar and cornet at an early age from his father, who was a professional musician. Beyond Procol Harum, this blues fan has collaborated with several other groups, such as those of Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, as well as with artists such as Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
After having dissolved Procol Harum at the end of the 1970s, Gary Brooker had reformed it at the beginning of the 1990s, and reactivated it during tours which regularly passed through Paris, specify our colleagues from Parisian. The last concert took place at the Trianon in 2017.