Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter two years of pandemic-induced shutdown and Omicron-postponed reopenings in December and January, Iridium, the downstairs music club in New York’s Times Square known as the “home of Les Paul,” is finishing the second week of its grand reopening, which launched on March 1 with a performance by the Harlem Blues Project, followed by four shows with a fiery jazz-rock band led by guitarist Mike Stern (featuring the great Randy Brecker on cornet), blues guitarist King Solomon Hicks, veteran folksinger Tom Rush and tonight and Saturday, guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, and jazz guitarist Larry Carlton, including sets focused on his extensively 1970s work with Steely Dan.The unusually intimate (for New York, anyway) 170-capacity downstairs club, which has updated its cleaning procedures and air-filtration system, returned with a full menu (including entrees like “The Les Paul” burger and the plant-based “Jerry Garcia”) a robust wine list and many (potent) specialty cocktails. The club is also launching Iridium Underground, a new series focused on emerging artists, next week with Brooklyn-based guitarist-producer Mario and the Mood.
Gary Brooker, frontman of rock band Procol Harum, dies at 76
23.02.2022 - 13:51 / abcnews.go.com
LONDON -- Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman who sang one of the 1960s' most enduring hits, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” has died. He was 76.The English rock band said Brooker died at his home on Saturday.
He had been receiving treatment for cancer.A statement posted on the band’s official website said: “With the deepest regret we must announce the death on February 19 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry.”The London-born Brooker was singer and keyboard player with the band, which had a huge hit with its first single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” With its Baroque-flavored organ solo and mysterious opening line - “We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor" — the song became one of the signature tunes of the 1967 “Summer of Love.”It topped the U.K. album chart for six weeks, was a top 10 hit in the United States and in 2018 was one of six singles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.In 2006, Procol Harum's former organ player, Matthew Fisher, sued Brooker over the song's famous Hammond organ solo.
Brooker said he wrote the Bach-inspired melody before Fisher joined the band, but a judge awarded Fisher a share of credit and royalties alongside Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.The judge said Fisher’s contribution to the song was “substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker.”The band never had another hit on the same scale, but Brooker continued to lead Procol Harum for more than five decades, through various lineup changes and 13 albums.Brooker also released four solo albums and wrote and sang for Eric Clapton’s band and with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, and he toured
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Neal McDonough To Produce & Star Opposite Dermot Mulroney In ‘The Warrant’ Sequel ‘Breaker’s Law’
EXCLUSIVE: Neal McDonough (Red Stone) has signed on to produce and star opposite Dermot Mulroney in The Warrant: Breaker’s Law, a sequel to his 2020 film The Warrant, which will see him reprise his role as Civil War hero and Sheriff John Breaker.
Former MGM Film Head Jonathan Glickman Launches Panoramic Media; Gary Barber, Spyglass, Tarak Ben Ammar, UTA, Lantern & Pinky Promise To Fund Venture
EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Glickman has launched Panoramic Media, a multi-platform content venture. The former MGM Motion Picture Group President launches with investment from Gary Barber, Spyglass Media Group, Eagle Pictures, Lantern Entertainment, Pinky Promise and United Talent Agency. Glickman wasn’t putting a number on the investment, but it is significant for the startup, which will be platform agnostic with the financial resources to develop projects across all platforms.
Watch Billy Joel cover ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ in tribute to Gary Brooker
Billy Joel has paid tribute to Procol Harum‘s Gary Brooker with a cover of the band’s classic, ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ – watch it below.During his performance at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night (February 26), Joel delivered a moving rendition of the 1967 single to celebrate the life of Brooker, who died on February 19 at the age of 76.Featured on the US version of Procol Harum’s self-titled debut album, ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.It’s a song that Joel has praised frequently, and covered on numerous occasions throughout his career, including a snippet during a Cincinnati concert in 2021 and a solo take during a Town Hall Q&A and concert with Howard Stern in 2014.His performance of the song in Vegas in honour of Brooker followed a performance of his own ‘Only The Good Die Young. You can watch Joel’s tribute below:Billy Joel pays tribute to Gary Brooker of Procol Harum with "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Just one song of a loaded 2.5 hour set at @AllegiantStadm #Vegas #BillyJoel #ProcolHarum @billyjoel pic.twitter.com/2pyX3cveRM— Rob Kachelriess (@rkachelriess) February 27, 2022Upon hearing the news of Brooker’s death earlier in the month, Joel took to social media to play his respects.“Sorry to hear about the passing of Gar Brooker,” he tweeted alongside a picture of the Procol Harum frontman sat at a piano.
Gary Brooker, frontman of Procol Harum, dead at 76
Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman who sang one of the 1960s' most enduring hits, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," has died. He was 76. The English rock band said Brooker died at his home on Saturday.
Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker dies
Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker has died, aged 76, while receiving treatment for cancer.A statement on the band’s website reads: “With the deepest regret we must announce the death on 19 Feb 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry. Aged 76, he had been receiving treatment for cancer, but died peacefully at home”.Born in London in 1945, Brooker moved with his family to Southend-On-Sea in Essex while he was still an infant.
Gary Brooker dead – Procol Harum frontman dies aged 76 after cancer battle
Procol Harum lead singer Gary Brooker has died at the age of 76.The A Whiter Shade of Pale hitmaker died on 19 February 2022 following a battle with cancer. A statement on the band's website confirmed the heartbreaking news as it read: "With the deepest regret we must announce the death on 19 February 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry.
Alternative Rock Band the Neighbourhood Is Going on Hiatus (EXCLUSIVE)
Ellise Shafer Alternative rock band The Neighbourhood are taking a hiatus, multiple sources confirm to Variety.The group, best known for the 2013 hit “Sweater Weather,” released its fourth album, “Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones,” in September 2020. They played two album release shows in October at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, N.Y., and released a new line of merch accompanying the album in November.
Gary Brooker (1945–2022), Procol Harum lead singer
Gary Brooker was a co-founder and lead vocalist of the classic progressive rock band Procol Harum known for their song “Whiter Shade of Pale.” Gary Brooker was a singer-songwriter and pianist who co-founded the classic progressive rock band Procol Harum. He was the lead singer for the British group whose voice can be heard on their iconic 1967 track “Whiter Shade of Pale.” He first started a band called The Paramounts with guitarist friend Robin Trower which had an R & B sound. After the Paramounts broke up, Brooker co-founded Procol Harum in 1966.
Gary Brooker Dies: Procol Harum Frontman, “Whiter Shade Of Pale” Singer-Songwriter Was 76
Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman whose soaring vocals on the band’s 1967 proto-prog rock classic “A Whiter Shade of Pale” helped make the song a mainstay of 1970s FM radio, died February 19 of cancer. He was 76.
Gary Brooker, who sang ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale,’ dead at 76
in a statement on social media. “He was notable for his individuality, integrity and occasionally stubborn eccentricity.