The Favorite, by Georgios Iakovidis (1890)

Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually-reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc. Rarely, such as in the case of sibling or half-sibling incest, these numbers are lower. In the history of modern humanity, around 30,000 years ago, the number of modern humans who lived to be grandparents began to skyrocket. It is not known for certain what spurred this increase in longevity. But it is believed that a key consequence of three generations being alive together was the facilitation of the passing along of information that prior to that point would have been lost; an example of this important information might have been where to find water in times of drought.^[1][2]

In cases where parents are unwilling or unable to provide adequate care for their children (e.g., death of the parents), grandparents often take on the role of primary caregivers. Even when this is not the case, and particularly in traditional cultures, grandparents often have a direct and clear role in relation to the raising, care and nurture of children.

One can also be a step-grandparent. A step-grandparent can be one's parent's step-parent or one's step-parent's parent or one's step-parent's step-parent. The various words for grandparents at times may also be used to refer to any elderly person, especially the terms gramps, granny, grandfather, grandmother and even more types that most families make up themselves.

Titles[link]

A grandfather teaches his granddaughter to use a kick scooter

When used as a noun (e.g., "... a grandparent walked by"), grandfather and grandmother are usually used, although grandpa/grandma and granny are often used. When preceded by "my ..." (i.e., "... my grandpa walked by"), all forms are common (anywhere from "... my grandfather ..." to "... my Gramps ..."). All forms can be used in plural, but Gramps (plural Gramps) is rare.

In writing, Grandfather and Grandmother are most common, but very rare when referring to a grandparent in person. In speech, Grandpa and Grandma are sometimes used in the United States and Canada. In Britain, Ireland, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland and Labrador, Nan, Nana, Nanna, Nada, Nanny, Gran and Granny and other variations are often used for grandmother in both writing and speech.

Numerous other variants exist, such as Gramp, Grandpap, Grampy, Granddad, Granddaddy, Grandpappy, Pop, and Pappy for grandfather; Grandmom, Grandmama, "Granny" and Grammy/Grammie for grandmother and Gogo for either, etc.

Given that people may have two living sets of grandparents, some confusion arises from calling two people "grandma" or "grandpa", so often two of the other terms listed above are used for one set of grandparents. Another common solution is to call grandparents by their first names ("Grandpa George", "Grandma Anne", etc.) or by their family names ("Grandpa Jones", "Grandma Smith"). In North America, many families call one set of grandparents by their ethnic names (i.e., Hispanic grandparents might be called "Abuelo" and "Abuela", French grandparents might be called "Pépé" and "Mémé", Italian grandparents might be called "Nonno" and "Nonna", or Dutch and German grandparents might be called "Opa" and "Oma").

Languages and cultures with more specific kinship terminology than English may distinguish between paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents. For example in the Swedish language there is no single word for "grandmother"; the mother's mother is termed mormor and the father's mother is termed farmor.^[3]

Great-grandparents[link]

A grandmother playing with her grandson.

The parents of a grandparent, or the grandparents of a parent are called all the same names (grandfather/-mother, grandpa/-ma, granddad/-ma, etc.) with the prefix great- added, one for each additional generation. One's great-grandparent's parents would be "great-great-grandparents". To avoid a proliferation of "greats" when discussing genealogical trees, one may also use ordinals instead of multiple "greats"; thus a "great-great-grandfather" would be the "second great-grandfather", and a "great-great-great-grandfather" would be a third great-grandfather, and so on. This system is used by some genealogical websites such as Geni.^[4] Individuals who share the same great-grandparents but are not siblings or first cousins are called "second Cousins" to each other, as second cousins are the grandchildren of one's grandparent's siblings.

History of the term[link]

The use of the prefix "grand-" dates from the early 13th century, from the Anglo-French graund. The term was used as a translation of Latin magnus.^[5] The prefix "great-" represents a direct translation of magnus to English.^[6] In Old English, the prefixes ealde- (old) and ieldra- (elder) were used (ealdefæder/-mōdor and ieldrafæder/-mōdor). A great-grandfather was called a þridda fæder (third father), a great-great-grandfather a fēowerða fæder (fourth father), etc.

Grandparents in non-Western culture[link]

This section requires expansion.

In traditional East Asian cultures influenced by Confucianism, filial piety is one of the highest moral values. Grandparents in non-Western cultures can hold more authority over the matters of a family such as child raising, attitudes and values. This kind of structure has eased with the increasing influence of Western culture and the increasing number of nuclear families.

See also[link]

• Grandaunt
• Grandfamily
• Granduncle
• Middle age
• Midlife crisis
• Cousin

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up grandparent, grandfather, grandmother, grandpa, or grandma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Grandparents

• Grandparenting support database AARP
• Links to Australian grandparent support groups
• Family therapy for grandparents raising grandchildren in crisis

Justin Moore
Justin Moore at the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Justin Cole Moore
Born	(1984-03-30) March 30, 1984 (age 28)[1]
Origin	Poyen, Arkansas, USA
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Years active	2007-present
Labels	Valory Music Group[2]
Associated acts	Randy Houser

Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. He has released two albums for Big Machine Records: Justin Moore in 2009 and Outlaws Like Me in 2011. He has charted six times on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the number one hits "Small Town USA" and "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" and the top 10 hit "Backwoods".

Music career[link]

Moore began performing during his junior year of high school.^[3] After graduating, he joined his uncle's Southern rock band and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2002.^[3]

Through his music attorney Bernie Cahill,^[4] he met a young producer in Nashville, Jeremy Stover, who introduced him to Scott Borchetta, a respected industry executive who was planning to launch The Valory Music Co. Borchetta promised to give him a record deal if he would be patient.^[3]

2008-2010[link]

In mid-2008, Moore signed to the Valory Music Group, an imprint of the independent record label Big Machine Records. The label then released the digital single "I Could Kick Your Ass". His first radio single, "Back That Thing Up", was co-written by his producer Jeremy Stover and Universal South Records artist Randy Houser. It reached number 38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He continued working on his debut album, which was part of a special promotion called "So You Want to Be a Record Label Executive". This promotion placed his music on social networking sites such as MySpace and iLike, where fans were allowed to create playlists comprising ten of his songs; the top ten songs picked were then included on the final album.^[5] His next single, "Small Town USA", entered the charts in February 2009,^[6] followed by a digital EP entitled The "You Asked for It" EP.

On August 11, the label released his self-titled debut album, on which he co-wrote nine of ten tracks.^[7] Justin Moore debuted at #3 on the Top Country Albums chart.^[8] He promoted the single and album on a "Small Town USA" tour which began in his hometown of Poyen and included several stops in small towns, as well as acoustic shows at Walmart stores.^[7] On the Billboard charts dated for October 3, 2009, "Small Town USA" became his first Number One hit. "Backwoods" was released as the album's third single in October 2009; the song was his second Top 10 hit with a peak of #6 in April 2010. The album's fourth single, "How I Got to Be This Way", debuted at #54 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of June 12, 2010; it became his third Top 20 country hit.

2011-Present[link]

In February 2011, he released the song "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away", which was originally recorded by Rhett Akins on his 2007 album People Like Me but did not chart. Justin Moore's rendition debuted at 46 on the Hot Country songs chart. In June 2011, the song became his third top ten hit on that chart, and a three weeks later, reached Number One. "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" serves as the lead-off single to his 2011 album Outlaws Like Me, released June 21, 2011.

Musical styles[link]

Steve Leggett of Allmusic describes him as having "a ready-made image. He was that good kid from a small town with a rowdy heart of gold who just happened to be able to sing about it."^[6] He has said that he learned to write songs because, when he had first moved to Nashville, no songwriters wanted to offer him material.^[7] His album has received mixed reviews from music critics: Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time referred to him as a "poseur" for name-dropping,^[9] and Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to it as "anonymous country rock."^[6] The 9513's Karlie Justus said that his influences were comparatively more authentic than most other acts on country radio,^[10] and Matt Bjorke of Roughstock said that his music has "a heavy dose of southern, country charm and twang."^[11]

Personal life[link]

Justin Moore married his wife, Kate, of Houma, Louisiana, in 2007. They have two daughters, Ella Kole, born February 11, 2010, and Kennedy Faye born November 21, 2011.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Music videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Justin Moore at Valory Music Company

Grandpa Elliott Small, born Elliot Small in 1945, also known as Uncle Remus, is a street-musician in New Orleans, Louisiana. He plays the harmonica, sings, and is a street icon in New Orleans. He has been featured on Playing for Change in several episodes. His debut song with Playing for Change was "Stand by Me".^[1] He has also been on The Tonight Show^[2] and The Colbert Report. He has been a street icon on Royal Street in the French Quarter and Jackson Square in New Orleans since moving from New York City in the 60s back to his place of birth. He performed to a crowd of more than 40,000 at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, on June 30, 2009, playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on harmonica and singing "God Bless America." His debut solo album, Sugar Sweet, was released November 3, 2009.

References[link]

External links[link]

• New York Times article on Elliott Small and Michael Stone

This article about a United States singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Paula Hiers Deen

Paula Hiers (left) in a public service announcement for Civitan International.
Born	(1947-01-19) January 19, 1947 (age 65) Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Cooking style	Southern
Current restaurant(s) The Lady & Sons Restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, Owens Shepard's Finest
Television show(s) Paula's Home Cooking (2002–present) Paula's Party (2006–present) Paula's Best Dishes (2008–present)
Award(s) won 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Host
Official website
http://www.pauladeen.com/

Paula Hiers Deen (born January 19, 1947) is an American cook, cooking show host, restaurateur, author, actress and Emmy Award-winning television personality. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. She has published five cookbooks. Though married in 2004 to Michael Groover,^[1] she uses the surname Deen from her first marriage.^[2]

Early life[link]

Deen was born in Albany, Georgia.^[3] Her parents died before she was 23, and an early marriage ended in divorce. In her 20s, Deen suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia. She then focused on cooking for her family as something she could do without leaving her house.^[4] In 1986, she took a job as a bank teller, and later moved to Savannah, Georgia, with her sons. In 1989, she divorced her husband, Jimmy Deen, to whom she had been married since 1965.^[1] She was left with only $200.^[3] She then started a catering service,^[5] making sandwiches and meals, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered. She was recently revealed as a sufferer of type-2 diabetes.^[6]

Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.

Restaurants[link]

Deen's home business, The Bag Lady, soon outgrew her kitchen. In January 1996 Deen opened her own restaurant, The Lady & Sons, in downtown Savannah, on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to a larger building in Savannah's historic district. USA Today named The Lady & Sons the "International Meal of the Year," in 1999. The specialty is a buffet, which typically includes sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, deep-fried Twinkies, fried chicken, cheesy meatloaf, greens, beans, and creamed corn. Every meal is served with a garlic cheese biscuit and a hoecake. Her sons are also involved in managing the restaurant, which is popular with tourists to Savannah.^[7]

In 2008, Deen parlayed her fame into another restaurant, the "Paula Deen Buffet" at Harrah's Tunica Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.^[8] Its entrance facade is modeled on Deen's home in Savannah and features Southern cooking.^[9]

In September 2009, Deen announced a new dessert line to be sold at Walmart including signature pies Apple Crunch Top, Dark Rum Pecan, Old Fashioned Fudge and Gooey Butter Cake bars.^[10]

Books and magazines[link]

In 1997, Deen self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking 2. Both cookbooks featured traditional Southern recipes.^[11] She has since published two more, written with Martha Nesbit. Deen has appeared on QVC and on The Oprah Winfrey Show (first in 2002, twice in 2007 and once in 2010). Her life story is featured in Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007, Sourcebooks).

In April 2007, Simon & Schuster published Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About the Cookin'. She launched a lifestyle magazine called Cooking with Paula Deen in November 2005.^[12] which claimed a circulation of 7.5 million in March, 2009.^[13]

Food Network[link]

Deen's relationship with Food Network began in 1999, when her friend Erin Lewis introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who then introduced her to her current agent, Artist's Agency owner Barry Weiner.^[14] Elliott took her through the city for a series of Doorknock Dinners episodes. She also appeared on Ready, Set, Cook!. Deen was invited to shoot a pilot named Afternoon Tea in early 2001. The network liked it, and eventually gave Deen her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, which premiered in November 2002. Paula's Home Cooking was originally taped in Millbrook, New York at the home of Gordon Elliott, the show's executive producer.^[15][16] Deen mentioned in an on the March 13, 2006, edition of The Daily Buzz that the next batch of episodes of her show would be taped at her home in Savannah, Georgia. According to the first of those episodes, actual production at her new Savannah home began in November 2005.

Deen throwing out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in Washington, D.C.

Since then, Deen has been given two more Food Network shows, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes.^[17] Paula's Party premiered on the Food Network in 2006 and Paula's Best Dishes debuted on June 8, 2008.^[18]

A televised biography of Deen was aired on an episode of the Food Network's Chefography program, in March 2006.^[19]

In December 2007, Deen teamed with Cat Cora and faced Chefs Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine in battle Sugar on the holiday special of Iron Chef America. At the end, Deen and Cora won.

Deen also helped Pat and Gina Neely get their first Food Network show, Down Home with the Neelys.^[20] During the summer of 2006, her sons, Bobby and Jamie Deen, featured the Neelys' Bar-B-Que Nashville location on their Food Network show Road Tasted. In September 2006, Paula ate at the Neelys' downtown Memphis restaurant and was impressed. In January 2007, the Neelys were invited to appear on Paula's Party,^[21] which eventually led to the Down Home show. In July 2008, the Neelys would also take over Road Tasted from the Deen brothers.

In May 2008, Deen announced at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show that she had signed a deal to host a talk show beginning in September 2009.^[22]

Deen has appeared in public service announcements for Civitan International.^[23]

On February 23, 2011, Deen appeared on the show Top Chef, and sat at the Judges Table.^[24]

Personal life[link]

In 2004, Deen married Michael Groover (born 1956), a tugboat captain in the port of Savannah, Georgia.^[25] Groover has two children from a previous marriage. The wedding was featured in a Food Network show in 2004. Their wedding took place at the Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah.^[26]

Deen is a supporter of the Bethesda Home for Boys, and asked Old Savannah Tours to donate $1 to the organization for each ticket purchased for the Paula Deen Store ticket sale.^[26] In January 2012, she announced she has had type 2 diabetes for the last three years.^[27]

Other work[link]

Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in 2005. She played the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking was featured. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere.^[28]

Awards and honors[link]

In June 2007, Deen won a Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lifestyle Host) for Paula's Home Cooking.^[29] In October 2010 she was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and presided over the 2011 Rose Parade before the Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2011.^[30]

Criticism[link]

Deen has faced extensive criticism for the high amounts of fat, salt, and sugar in her recipes.^[31] She faced particularly strong objections with the release of Lunch-Box Set, a cookbook aimed at children, with Barbara Walters saying of the book, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to this?"^[32] Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain commented in 2011 that he "would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it's OK to eat food that is killing us."^[33]

On January 17, 2012, Deen announced that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years before, a disease for which a high calorie diet is a major risk factor.^[34][35] It was also disclosed that Deen is a paid spokesperson for the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.^[35] She was called a hypocrite for continuing to promote her high sugar diet while only disclosing her medical condition when it benefits her in representing the drug company to market their diabetes management program.^[36] Deen stated on the January 18, 2012 episode of The Chew that a portion of her compensation would be given to charities.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paula Deen

• Official website
• The Lady & Sons restaurant
• Cooking with Paula Deen magazine
• Paula Deen at the Internet Movie Database
• Paula Deen at TV Guide
• Paula Deen ... Answers Your Questions Archive at People.com

"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^[1] 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,^[2] 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),^[3] 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.^[4] Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known.^[5] The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords.

Recording and personnel[link]

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, England with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior^{[citation needed]} and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.^[6]

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

Lyrics[link]

Reid got the title and the starting point for the song at a party. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale," and the phrase stuck in his mind.^[7][8] The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth.^[9] The author of Procol Harum: beyond the pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act."^[8] This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys.^[10] Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.^[7]

Structurally and thematically, the song is unusual in many respects. While the recorded version is 4:03 long, it is composed of only two verses, each with chorus. The piece is also more instrument-driven than most songs of the period, and with a much looser rhyme scheme. Its unusually allusive and referential lyrics are much more complex than most lyrics of the time (for example, the chorus focuses on Chaucer's The Miller's Tale). Thus, this piece can be thought of as a forerunner to the progressive rock that would reach its zenith about ten years later.

The phrase a whiter shade of pale has since gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.^[11][12][13] As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. (See ^[14] for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y--this to the extent that it has been recognised^[15][16] as a snowclone – a type of cliché and phrasal template.

Composition[link]

The song is in moderate time, in C major, and is characterised by the bassline moving stepwise downwards in a repeated pattern throughout. In classical music this is known as a ground bass. The harmonic structure is identical for the organ melody, the verse and the chorus, except that the chorus finishes with a cadence. The main organ melody appears at the beginning and after each verse/chorus. But it is also heard throughout, playing variations of its theme and counterpointing the vocal line. Both the vocal and the organ accompaniment reach a crescendo at the beginning of the chorus "And so it was, and later ..."; where the organist rapidly runs his finger down and up the entire keyboard. The final instrumental fades out to silence - a common device in pop music of the time.

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers, Wake!" and "Air on the G String" - both of which use a similar stepwise bass motion. But contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach,^[17] although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referred to in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments. A yet closer melodic influence that is seldom cited can arguably^{[weasel words]} be found in the organ choral prelude "O Mensch bewein dein' Sünde groß" (O Man, Lament Your Sin So Great), BWV 622, from Bach's Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book). The music also borrows ideas from "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge.^[18]

Reception[link]

The single was released on 12 May 1967 by Deram Records and entered the UK charts on 25 May. In two weeks it reached number one where it stayed for six weeks, and on the UK chart for a total of 15 weeks. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies. In the Netherlands it entered the chart at number one in June 1967 and again reached number one in July 1972.

Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (the Netherlands), # 1 (Germany), # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100). "A Whiter Shade of Pale" also managed to peak at number twenty-two on the soul charts in the U.S.^[19]

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim:

• John Lennon was a great fan of the song and was known to have played it repeatedly in his Rolls Royce. When it was released in England, Lennon (and friends in his circle) reportedly confused Brooker's soulful vocals with Steve Winwood, who had popularity at the time with The Spencer Davis Group.
• It was named joint winner (along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which also uses the word 'fandango') of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the BRIT Awards, part of Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.
• #57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
• British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.^[20]

Authorship lawsuit[link]

In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the High Court against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.^[21]

Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.^[22]

Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was held before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in the Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship^[23] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.^[24]

On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision to the House of Lords.^[25] Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song.^[26] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22–23 April 2009.^[27]

On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher.^[28][29] The musicological basis of the judgment, and its effect on the rights of musicians who contribute composition to future works, has drawn some attention in the music world.^[30]

Video[link]

The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England.^[31] The Witley Court video features four of the five musicians who played on the hit single: Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, David Knights and Ray Royer, in performance and walking through the ruins. Only the drummer in the video isn't on the record: early band member Bobby Harrison is seen miming to session man Bill Eyden's drumming. According to Shindig! Magazine's Procol Harum cover story by Alan Robinson (November–December 2009 issue – page 55), the video was directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the "Top of the Pops" TV show. The band subsequently made another video using "Scopitone" technology, but by this time, Robin Trower and B.J. Wilson had replaced Royer and Harrison in the band, so only three of the five musicians on the recording are represented, and no performance footage included – only the five musicians cavorting around London, running across fields, etc. This lineup, with Fisher in a monk's cowl, also mimed to the song on Top of the Pops, (though Gary Brooker sang live) and black and white footage of this performance has been shown online, perhaps constituting the third video of the song from 1967. (See also its inclusion on the 'Top of the Pops 40th Anniversary 1964–2004 DVD'.)

There was also a video shot as part of Joel Gallen's Deja-View music video series.^[32] Originally airing on various networks in late 1985 through 1986, this video starred Harry Dean Stanton and Bernie Taupin, but featured no member of the band. It has also aired on VH1 Classic, and has recently surfaced online.^[33][34]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Eyden Obituary
• Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale, live video from Eagle Rock Entertainment's official channel on YouTube
• A Whiter Shade of Pale: authorised lyrics of all four verses