francene--blog. Year 2013
  • Home
  • Blog

August 22nd

8/22/2013

 
I watched a television program last night featuring top of the pop songs from the late 1960's and 70's. The songs were wonderful, inspiring, and lyrical. In every one of the hits, the words were clear. Most of them told a story which held the listener captivated. Perhaps the difference in music nowadays differs too much from the quality I grew up with. One of the last songs played was the haunting song, A Whiter Shade of Pale.

Picture
The debut single by the English rock band Procol Harum,  A Whiter Shade of Pale was released 12 May 1967. The record reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it also reached No. 5 on the US charts. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Pictureitunes.apple.com
With its haunting Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics, A Whiter Shade of Pale reached No. 1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK. The United Kingdom performing rights group PPL recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.

In 1977, the song was named joint winner (along with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody) of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the Brit Awards. In 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known. The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in numerous film soundtracks, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid wrote the words to this song. He said:

"It's sort of a film, really, trying to conjure up mood and tell a story. It's about a relationship. There's characters and there's a location, and there's a journey. You get the sound of the room and the feel of the room and the smell of the room. But certainly there's a journey going on, it's not a collection of lines just stuck together. It's got a thread running through it." Reid got the idea for the title when it came to him at a party, which gave him a starting point for the song.  "I feel with songs that you're given a piece of the puzzle, the inspiration or whatever. In this case, I had that title, 'Whiter Shade of Pale,' and I thought, There's a song here. And it's making up the puzzle that fits the piece you've got. You fill out the picture, you find the rest of the picture that that piece fits into."

This describes the foundation of a work of art—a painting, novel or song.

Most of the songs from that era are still played today as background for commercials or used in movies. Quality endures through the ages.

Sophie Bowns link
8/21/2013 09:52:53 pm

Ah I love this song! I had to listen to your youtube clip to remember what is sounded like, but it's great! The lyrics are really deep and interesting :)

Francene Stanley link
8/22/2013 03:14:51 am

Isn't it great? The music nowadays is ininteresting in comparison.

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen link
8/22/2013 04:17:42 am

This is lovely, Francene! I've been watching old Paul McCartney concerts on YouTube....at least I think it was Paul McCartney...I've been writing all morning and my brain is fried :-)

But, the point I want to make is that it's really interesting to listen to and see those old concerts. Some music hits home, no matter when it was created.

:-)
Laurie

Francene Stanley link
8/23/2013 03:19:49 am

I agree. Some music is timeless. As long as it's good.

Ambitious Curls link
8/22/2013 04:21:41 am

Being a writer I can relate to this. It is a piece to the puzzle that we enjoy just digging in and getting a clear picture. Great post!

Francene Stanley link
8/23/2013 03:20:42 am

How great to be able to create something by digging into the mind recesses.

Alana link
8/22/2013 08:48:44 am

I loved this song when it came out, and I loved it again when I played it from your blog just now. Too bad it cut off when I started to comment. I don't know if it became as popular here in the States as it did in the UK, but I agree - it's a classic.

Francene Stanley link
8/23/2013 03:21:48 am

Wonderful music. I lived in Asutralia when the song was released and it was played all the time then.

Suerae Stein link
8/22/2013 10:06:57 am

I actually have this song in my itunes library. I love it too. You described it perfectly as "haunting". I've never seen the video before - very fun!

Francene Stanley link
8/23/2013 03:22:52 am

How great that you have kept a copy of the song to play when the mood strikes you.

Rosalind Adam link
8/22/2013 06:16:42 pm

I love that song and it brings back many amazing memories but I did nice her them being interviewed about the lyrics and they said that they didn't mean anything. Maybe they've changed their mind to maintain sales!

Francene Stanley link
8/23/2013 03:24:01 am

Hehe. Maybe we all do a bit of marketing sometimes. I wonder which version is true.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Catastrophe
    Creativity
    Family
    Life Experiences
    Mother
    News
    Novel Writing
    Novel-writing
    Retirement
    World

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.