The «A Whiter Shade of Pale» singer had been battling cancer
Gary Brooker, the frontman for Procol Harum best known for singing “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” has died. He was 76 years old. “With the deepest regret we must announce the death on 19 February 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry,” the band wrote in a statement on Tuesday. Brooker started his career with The Paramounts, and when they disbanded, he founded Procol Harum in 1967. Their first single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” became a defining hit of the era, and in 1998 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. “Gary’s voice and piano were the single defining constant of Procol’s fifty-year international concert career,” the band’s statement continued.
