Procol Harum Debut Album and Single History

Keith Reid originally met Gary Brooker at a time when Brooker was still active as a vocalist and pianist in the group The Paramounts. After the group The Paramounts disbanded, Reid and Brooker reached the decision to work together as songwriters. Following this choice, the group members entered the recording studio alongside producer Denny Cordell with the purpose of recording 10 songs for the album.

During the songwriting process for the first album, the working routine shared between Keith Reid and Gary Brooker differed on only one occasion, which was on the track Conquistador. When produced, this first album by Procol Harum was not recorded in stereo sound. Earlier in the summer of 1967, the debut single from Procol Harum, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, had risen to the number one position in the United Kingdom.

Despite the massive success achieved by the single that gave the album its name, the album itself failed to enter the top 50 chart in the United Kingdom. In a separate release from 1981, Malcolm Dome had his first book published, and this publication was titled Encyclopedia Metallica.