A Whiter Shade Of Pleading

We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
as the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
the waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale
(Procol Harum, A Whiter Shade of Pale)

It seems a bit on the late side, but the former organ player for the band Procol Harum, Matthew Fisher, has brought a lawsuit to try and claim partial authorship of the song, A Whiter Shade of Pale. The song, first recorded in 1967, is a musical icon and was ranked at number 57 of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine.

The organ strains of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" sounded through Court 56 of Britain's High Court as the band's former organ player, Matthew Fisher, sued an ex-bandmate for a share of copyright in the multimillion-selling song.

Fisher's lawyer, Iain Purvis, said the song "defined what is sometimes called the Summer of Love in 1967" and had achieved cult status.

He said Fisher had composed the organ melody, and particularly the eight-bar Hammond organ solo, which gives the song its distinctive baroque flavor.

Purvis said the solo "is a brilliant piece of work and it is crucial to the success of the song."

"Our case, in essence, is that Mr. Fisher wrote the entirety of the organ tune," he said.

Fisher is suing Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music Ltd. for a co-author credit and a share of the song's copyright and royalties.

Brooker, who is credited as the song's author with lyricist Keith Reid, says the pair wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March 1967.

I'm a little surprised that this could even be brought into court after all these years.