"A Whiter Shade of Pale" was one of the most successful popular songs of the late 1960s. Recorded by the band Procol Harum and first released as a single on 12 May 1967 by Decca Records under licence from Essex Music Ltd, it was an instant success. Already in June 1967 it had reached number one in the UK charts where it remained for several weeks. It reached number five in the American charts with sales in the USA rising to over a million copies. It was no less of a success elsewhere. Worldwide, over six million copies were sold. On 26 March 1968 it was declared to be the International Song of the Year at the Thirteenth Annual Ivor Novello Awards. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 57 in its "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" while Channel 4 placed it at number 19 in its chart of the "100 Greatest Songs ".

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