Procol Harum

About

After the rhythm & blues band The Paramounts disbanded in 1966, singer Gary Brooker helped form Procol Harum early in 1967. In July that year, the band got their first #1 hit A Whiter Shade of Pale, co-written by Brooker & Reid, becoming one of the first real "symphonic rock" songs. A lot of albums and singles were released afterwards, but never enjoyed the success of their first single.

Band friend and record company owner Guy Stevens came up with the group's name Procol Harum, a mis-spelling of the Latin phrase Procul Harun (roughly meaning “far beyond these things”), which was also the pedigree name of his Siamese cat (who actually was marked Procul hīs). (Another explanation is that it was a corruption of Procellarum, a vast ocean on the Moon.)

The line up for their first single was:

Gary Brooker: vocals and piano
Keith Reid: words
Matthew Fisher: Hammond organ
David Knights: bass
Ray Royer: guitar
Drums by session drummer Bill Eyden.

Procol Harum re-formed in October 1991 and recorded "The Prodigal Stranger" with this line-up:

Brooker - vocals and piano
Reid - words
Fisher - hammond organ
with guests:
Dave Bronze - bass
Mark Brzezicki - drums
Jerry Stevenson - mandolin and guitar