Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Gary Brooker, 1945-2022

 

 

Well this is a kick in the gut.

One of the more criminal acts in music history is that Procol Harum is considered a one-hit wonder. Gary Brooker will never be considered a soul singer, another criminal act.

Every Procol Harum record from their 1967 through 1973's "Grand Hotel" is worth your time, and that is mostly because of Gary Brooker, his playing and that unbelievable voice.

Gary Brooker, R.I.P.









17 comments:

Airoe said...

One of the most underrated band ! Great voice ! Great pain

Alain

Whattawino said...

Damn! I was just playing me some Procol Harem 2 nights ago and bouncing around their great albums from the period which you mentioned. I love this band! Nobody else sounds like them, either. RIP Gary Brooker

said...

Shine on Brightly & Home are two of my favorite albums & I don't even particularly like Brit rock. Much of the appreciation I have for them is because of Brooker. Sorry to learn of his passing. I knew he had been fighting cancer for some time.

cmealha said...

What a great voice and sound. The live version of Conquistador is one of my all-time favorites

Tinpot said...

This has recently become my favourite Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6jyEFe5WM

PH live with the Danish Natl Orchestra. Absolutely gorgeous.

Strummer62 said...

Not A good day at all, R.I.P Mark Lanegan as well,

Sal Nunziato said...

Terrible news. This is the first I am hearing about Mark Lanegan.

Strummer62 said...

57 years old , died at home, no details available, a great loss along with Mr. Brooker and Dallas Good

Sal Nunziato said...

This is the new thing, no cause of death.

What happened to Charlie Watts?
What happened to Rachel from the Detroit Cobras?
Meat Loaf?

Is it all COVID-related?

FD13NYC said...

The last show I saw at The Bottom Line before it closed was Procol Harum, and it was great. R.I.P. Mr. Brooker.

Keith35 said...

I loved Procol Harum. Glad I got to see them a few years ago at City Winery. Don't forget Exotic Birds and Fruit; one of my favorite PH albums

Anonymous said...

Sad about both Gary Brooker and Mark Lanegan.

A user posted this link on another blog I read now and then. It's an excerpt from Mark Lanegan's memoir. Not sure if Covid-19 killed it, but it certainly tried.
Link

- Paul in DK

soundsource said...

Couldn't agree more. He will be missed.
BTW I had read he passed from Cancer not conspiracy.

Sal Nunziato said...

Soundsource,
Not sure I understand.

A Walk In The Woods said...

Crap! I'm sorry to hear about this - and also Mark Lanegan, I hadn't heard about him.

Well, after 2 years of good fortune, Covid has finally caught up with me and my wife. We tested positive yesterday. (We and our two sons are all fully vaxxed + boosted + masked.)

Which by the way doesn't diminish my faith in the vaccines one iota, if I may say. They helped keep us from the virus for this long, and also it seems to be a very mild case of Covid for us so far - like having a cold. We'll see if that maintains, but that's how it's been so far.

I mention all of that because of the mention of Covid in this thread. It is most certainly still out there, so beware and get vaxxed, friends.

Sal Nunziato said...

Sorry to hear, AWITW.
Hopefully you and your wife will be over the mild symptoms soon

A Walk In The Woods said...

Thank you Sal!

And not to add to random speculation, but damn, another "no cause of death given" notice for an amazing musician dying at a young age. Loved the Sadies.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/dallas-good-sadies-dead-obit-1302430/