LONDON (AP) - Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman who sang one of the 1960s' most enduring hits, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," has died. He was 76 years old.
The English rock band said Brooker died at their home on Saturday. He was undergoing treatment for cancer.
A statement posted on the band's official website read: "With deepest regret we have the death of Gary Brooker MBE, vocalist, pianist and composer of Prokol Harum, on 19 February 2022, and a shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry." should be announced."
The London-born Brooker was the vocalist and keyboard player with the band, which had a huge hit with their debut single, "A Whiter Shade of Pale". With its Baroque-flavored organ single and mysterious opening line—"We left the light fandango on, the cartwheels crossed the floor"—the song became one of the signature tunes of 1967's "Summer of Love".
It topped the UK Albums Chart for six weeks, was a top 10 hit in the United States and was one of six singles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
In 2006, Procol Harum's former organ player, Matthew Fischer, sued Brooker over the song's famous Hammond organ solo. Brooker stated that he had written a Bach-inspired melody before Fischer joined the band, but a judge gave Fischer a share of the credits and royalties with Brooker and songwriter Keith Reid.
The judge said that Fisher's contribution to the song was "substantial but not, in my judgment, substantial as Mr. Brooker."
The band never had another hit on the same scale, but Brooker continued to lead Procol Harum for over five decades through various lineup changes and 13 albums.
Brooker also released four solo albums and wrote and sang with Eric Clapton's bands and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, and he toured with Ringo Starr's band Ringo's All-Stars.
In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II made him a member of the MBE - Order of the British Empire for services to charity.