PROCOL HARUM
Procol Harum is an English progressive rock band formed in 1967. Their best-known recording is their 1967 hit single “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, considered a classic in popular music and one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum’s music also embraces the blues, R&B, and soul. (More from Wikipedia)
Barely one year later, in October 1968, Joe Cocker released a cover of “With a Little Help from My Friends” – a Number One single in the UK – which gets my vote as the most satisfying Beatles cover of all time. His version of the song is very different from how the Beatles performed it, and that is what covers should be as far as I am concerned. Joe Cocker is backed by a stellar band that includes Jimmy Page on guitar (the first Led Zeppelin album came out in the following year), B. J. Wilson of Procol Harum on drums, Chris Stainton on bass, and distinctive organ by Tommy Eyre. Cocker’s frantic performance of the song was a highlight of the Woodstock film of the original Woodstock Music & Art Fair gathering in 1969.
(June 2015)
