Procol Player Snags Greener Shade of "Pale"

12/20/2006 7:23 AM, E! Online


One of the maestros of hippiedom just got a little more bourgeois—and all thanks to the man.

Matthew Fisher, a onetime keyboardist for former psychedelic rock group Procol Harum, was awarded a massive 40 percent share of all future royalties from the band's mega-hit, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," a song that served as the soundtrack for much of the late '60s and which has gone on to be featured in just about every movie and TV show depicting the decade since.

London High Court Judge William Blackburne on Wednesday granted Fisher partial copyright for the 1967 song as well as coauthorship after the musician claimed that he wrote the tune's signature organ sections.

"I find that the organ solo is a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition and, quite obviously, the product of skill and labor on the part of the person who created it," Blackburne ruled.

Could have used more cowbell, though.

Former Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker, who previously held the sole copyright for the tune and shared a songwriting credit with lyricist Keith Reid, called the ruling, in a pun-happy fit, "A Darker Shade of Black," adding that he planned on appealing the decision.

"The repercussions of this decision are so far-reaching that any musician who has ever played on any recording in the last 40 years may now have a potential claim of joint authorship," Brooker's lawyers said. "It is effectively open season on the songwriter...This creates a ticking time bomb ready to explode whenever the musician chooses and when, possibly, material witnesses have passed away."

So, not an organ fan.

The copyright award, while a substantial 40 percent, was less than Fisher requested in his suit, which was a full 50 percent share. The judge also denied Fisher's request to be privy to nearly $2 million from the song's considerable past royalties, and applied his take only to profits dating from 2005, when the suit was filed. There was no immediate calculation on how much royalties were generated in that span.

Blackburne claimed that since Fisher had "sat back" for 40 years before taking his grievance to court, the musician gave up his rights to partake of the earlier proceeds.

Brooker, meanwhile, said his faith in the British courts was "shattered" as a result of the ruling.

"If Matthew Fisher's name ends up on my song then mine can come off!" he said. "I have to respect and acknowledge the people I write songs with. After all this time, this case should never have gone to court."

As for Fisher, who currently works in London as a computer programmer, he admits that the organ solo from "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, but that he had "[his] own ideas in [his] head."

"I think I can assume that from now on I'm not going to be on Gary and Keith's Christmas card lists," he told reporters outside the courthouse, "but I think that's a small price to pay for finally securing my rightful place in rock 'n' roll history."