Ah, one of the all-time great singles of the rock era. So mature, yet it was their first single. I envy those hearing this for the first time (and they're just kids in this video... kids!). One of Paul McCartney's favorite songs:

McCartney: "It's got to be "A Whiter Shade of Pale." The first time I ever heard it was the night I met Linda. We met at the Bag O' Nails, and we went on to the Speakeasy, and they played the record of it there. We were with Keith Moon of the Who and Eric Burdon of the Animals, and we were all trying to figure out who it was. We all thought it must be Stevie Winwood, but it turned out to be Procol Harum. We just said, 'This is the best song ever, man.'"

Isn't it ironic that "white" people spend billions of dollars a year getting a suntan while the "non-white" people strive to lighten their skin colour?

"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"
A Whiter Shade of Pale: Lyrics by: Keith Stuart Brian Reid: Sung by: Procol Harum
Here's Procol Harum singing A Whiter Shade of Pale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbWULu5_nXI