Artist · chart history · #392 in indie & aaa artist polls

Procol Harum

Band Southend-on-Sea United Kingdom Active 1967–2022

Procol Harum formed in 1967 in Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom and was active until 2022. Procol Harum has 59 chart appearances on 52 radio countdowns from 20 stations on RockLists, spanning 1987–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Whiter Shade of Pale”, which appears on 50 lists with a best position of #20. The station that charted Procol Harum most often is Studio Brussel (Flanders, Belgium), with 11 appearances.

59appearances

52countdowns

4songs charted

20stations

0#1 finishes

1987–2026years

Procol Harum came out of Southend-on-Sea in 1967 with "A Whiter Shade of Pale", a slow, stately hymn of a record that sounded as if a baroque chapel had been rewired for the pop charts. It became one of the very few singles to sell past 10 million copies, and that hush-and-sway grandeur has hung over everything the band did since.

This was a group with one foot in the conservatory and the other in the blues. The records blend baroque and classical colour with psychedelia, R&B and soul, and it's easy to hear the seeds of progressive rock taking root. Gary Brooker heads a long roll call of members: the early lineups carried Robin Trower, Matthew Fisher, David Knights, Ray Royer and Barrie James Wilson; later came Alan Cartwright on bass, Chris Copping and Mick Grabham. Home, in 1970, carried the rowdy "Whiskey Train".

Trower and Fisher both came back for a while in the '90s, and the band kept going until 2022. In 2018 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted "A Whiter Shade of Pale" in its new singles category, 6 years after nominating the band as performers.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Procol Harum on radio countdowns

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Peak year
1	Whiter Shade of Pale	2,900	50	#20	–	–
2	Salty Dog	122	3	#353	–	–
3	Conquistador	113	4	#245	–	–
4	Whiskey Train	13	1	#773	–	–

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Every countdown appearance

Year	#	Song	Countdown
2026	64	Whiter Shade of Pale	WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time
2026	182	Whiter Shade of Pale	WMGK Philly 500 (2026)
2026	184	Whiter Shade of Pale	KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026)
2026	245	Conquistador	KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026)
2026	435	Whiter Shade of Pale	DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026)
2025	138	Whiter Shade of Pale	DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025)
2025	291	Whiter Shade of Pale	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025)
2024	201	Whiter Shade of Pale	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024)
2024	393	Whiter Shade of Pale	WMGK Philly 500 (2024)
2023	80	Whiter Shade of Pale	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time
2023	170	Whiter Shade of Pale	WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023
2023	376	Whiter Shade of Pale	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023)
2023	395	Whiter Shade of Pale	WMGK Philly 500 (2023)
2023	699	Whiter Shade of Pale	WPDH Top 1015 (2023)
2022	155	Whiter Shade of Pale	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022)
2022	250	Whiter Shade of Pale	KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022)
2022	413	Whiter Shade of Pale	DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022)
2021	409	Whiter Shade of Pale	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021)
2020	171	Whiter Shade of Pale	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time
2020	241	Whiter Shade of Pale	KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020)
2020	353	Salty Dog	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time
2020	1218	Conquistador	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time
2019	242	Whiter Shade of Pale	KZOK Top 1025 of 2019
2018	533	Whiter Shade of Pale	The Current's 893 Essential Songs
2014	735	Whiter Shade of Pale	BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014)
2014	836	Salty Dog	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014)
2014	974	Conquistador	BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014)
2012	483	Whiter Shade of Pale	BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012)
2012	86	Whiter Shade of Pale	WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012)
2012	590	Salty Dog	WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012)
2012	773	Whiskey Train	WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012)
2009	458	Whiter Shade of Pale	WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009)
2007	111	Whiter Shade of Pale	WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time
2006	337	Whiter Shade of Pale	Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006)
2006	395	Artist ranking	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Artists (2006)
2005	31	Whiter Shade of Pale	Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005	76	Whiter Shade of Pale	Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005)
2004	60	Whiter Shade of Pale	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004)
2004	226	Whiter Shade of Pale	Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2002	428	Whiter Shade of Pale	KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002)
2002	749	Conquistador	KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002)
2001	42	Whiter Shade of Pale	WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time
2001	208	Whiter Shade of Pale	Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
1998	96	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1998)
1997	64	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1997)
1997	370	Whiter Shade of Pale	WZLX Memorial 500 (1997)
1997	397	Whiter Shade of Pale	WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997)
1996	63	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1996)
1996	85	Whiter Shade of Pale	WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996)
1995	55	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1995)
1994	64	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1994)
1993	44	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1993)
1992	37	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1992)
1991	916	Whiter Shade of Pale	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)
1991	49	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1991)
1991	29	Whiter Shade of Pale	WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991)
1990	27	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1990)
1988	34	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1988)
1987	20	Whiter Shade of Pale	Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1987)

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