Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant domesticated in the ancient Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. The leaf is occasionally used as a leaf vegetable, and the straw is used for fodder. Beans, squash and maize constituted the "Three Sisters" that provided the foundation of Native American agriculture.

Botanically, the common bean is classified as a dicotyledon. Beans are legumes, so acquire their nitrogen through an association with rhizobia, a species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 18.3 million tonnes of dry common beans and 6.6 million tonnes of green beans were grown worldwide in 2007.

The other major type of bean is the broad bean (Vicia faba), of which 3.7 million tonnes were grown in 2007. The commercial production of beans is well-distributed worldwide, with countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, South and North America all among the top bean growers. Brazil and India are the largest producers of dry beans while China produces, by far, the largest quantity of green beans, almost as much as the rest of the top ten growers combined.

Tracy Bonham (born March 16, 1967 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American alternative rock musician best known for her 1996 single "Mother Mother".

Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Bonham is a classically-trained violinist and pianist. She received two Grammy nominations in 1997 for Best Alternative Album and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Bonham began singing at age five and playing the violin at nine. As a teen she received a full scholarship to the University of Southern California for violin, but she eventually transferred (and moved) to Boston, Massachusetts in 1994, where she attended the Berklee College of Music to study voice instead. While there she started writing songs and in early 1995 she released her first EP, The Liverpool Sessions, and the single "The One" won best single in the Boston Phoenix reader's poll.

Also that year, based on a performance in a local club in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Toad, a representative from Island Records signed her to a record deal. She immediately began work on her first album.

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well. It is one of the fewer than 30 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

With its haunting Bach-flavoured instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics—by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, and Matthew Fisher-- "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK (as of 2009), and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.