A Whiter Shade of Pale

Esteemed by the excellent Glenn Tilbrook ('of Squeeze')

Musician.com: Can you give some examples of other pop songs over the years that you have considered great—for whatever reason?

Tilbrook: Well, from the 1950s, [songwriters Jerry] Leiber and [Mike] Stoller were brilliant. I think the stuff they did in Jailhouse Rock [starring Elvis Presley]... well, Jailhouse Rock, the song, that's a very familiar song. It takes elements of Black R&B quite cleverly. I think quite a lot of their writing seems to be heady – I don't think they're just intuitive writers. And combine that with a lyric that's witty and funny.

From the 1960s, [Procol Harum’s] Whiter Shade of Pale. Because the classical influence in rock hadn't been done before. It was a time when a lot of boundaries were being pushed back. A lot of barriers were redefined after that point, and it's one of those songs with a tactical influence. Three years before, it was impossible – you could have never done something like that. I think we're still doing stuff like that now, and that shows the influence that it had.