Idolator
A little more than 40 years after the first English hippies snagged a copy of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher bites his nails in anticipation of finally finding out whether he really gets to keep the songwriting credit (and 40% royalty share) a judge determined he was entitled to last year. Harum singer Gary Brooker is obviously contesting the ruling, calling bullshit on how long Fisher waited to complain about his unfair treatment. And according to Billboard, the case could be more important than a pair of sixtysomething ex-rockers tussling over the rights to a golden oldie:
It has been widely speculated that the decision could have far-reaching repercussions in the music industry, encouraging any musician who had played on any recording in the last 40 years to raise a potential claim of joint authorship. Baldwin told the judges today: "It raises issues of principle which are of general importance to the industry and which merit particularly close consideration by the Court of Appeal."
Of course, even if Fisher wins, he's "only to be entitled to royalties dated after May 31, 2005, when the claim was filed"—which annually still comes out to about as much as a lower-middle-class American family makes in a year—thanks to the four decade lag between release date and complaint. However, if the case holds up, this may finally be Ringo's time to shine. Or his lawyers' time to shine, anyway.
London Judge Hears Whiter Shade Appeal [Billboard]
Comments
Aubrey Beardsley needs to sue from beyond the grave there.
More importantly, how much goes to the estate of Johann Sebastian Bach for the stolen riff in the song? You do not want that dude's ghost haunting you like he did me after downloading one of his ringtones.
And in LA, Morrissey cries himself to sleep yet again.
@Ned Raggett: Fine Arts reference FTW.
Please note that Fisher was a distinguished keyboardist who was central to the sound of the band, and his production sensibility gave them and other artists some of the more refined sounds of the day. Procol also had one of the more musical drummers, the late BJ Wilson.
For a laugh, hunt down "Going For a Song" from his 1973 solo album. As you might expect, the organ line is superb.
You can take the stained glass from my window
You can drink my whiskey and champagne
You can drive a plow across my golf course
But please don't make me play that song again
You can put piranha in my swimming pool
Kick me and I just won't feel the pain
Scratch your name all over my Lamborghini
But just don't make me play that song again
It's not because it's hard to reach those high notes
That it makes me sad
When I think what I used to be
It makes me feel so bad
It's not that I don't like the words
But I must admit there are better words around
But every time I hear that tune
It really brings me down
I don't mind you asking for my autograph
But please don't ask what happened to my friends
Please don't show me any more photographs
And please don't make me sing that song again
I've sung it so many times
Please don't make me sing that song again
Whiter Shade of Pale was the first song I heard on the radio, that made we want to save my money and buy a Hammond B-3. I saved the money, but my parents used the tried-and-true "not enough room in this house" argument.
It's fairly difficult, and takes expert mike placement to get this weird instrument recorded well. You'd have listen to one in person to hear what I mean. With the requisite rotating speaker, it's a sound like no other! The synth makers STILL don't have it right, and they've been trying to replace that big bulky wood cabinet with chips, for more than 25 years!
Unfortunately, the popularity of this sound waned in the late 1970s, in favor of just plugging the mini-moog straight into the mixing board. Why, I still don't know!
Nice try, COCKFIGHTBARMITZVAH but as any serious musicologist will ascertain, there was in fact no "stolen Bach riff" in the song.
Ironically enough, Mr.Brooker has of late (in recent concert renditions of the famous song in question) replaced Mr. Fisher's carefully wrought original melody (which was merely in the style of Bach and not a direct nick by any stretch); he has replaced it with an introductory melody which IS a direct lift from JSB (and which upon listening is not nearly as effective nor as eerily haunting as Mr. Fisher's original contribution).
Methinks that should the ghost elect to do any haunting, it won't be of Mr. Fisher, whose composition was a lovely homage to the late master.
@cockfightbarmitzvah, @ProfessorFingleheimer: FWIW, Richie Unterberger writes at allmusic that the "cathedral-toned organ riff [is] loosely based on Bach's Air on a G String."
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