Gary Brooker, during his sixtieth year (photograph, aptly enough, by One-Eye)
Click on the image above to see a full-size Brooker mention in the Sunday Los Angeles Daily News; or click here for the whole column (thanks, Jill)
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Alpha male ... Gary Brooker, during his sixtieth year (photograph, aptly enough, by One-Eye)
Click on the image above to see a full-size Brooker mention in the Sunday Los Angeles Daily News; or click here for the whole column (thanks, Jill) |
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| 1 |
Jill McMahon |
Happy Birthday, Gary. And many, many more. Have an extra special magical day. | |
| 2 |
Jeremy Gilien |
Have a wonderful birthday, and thanks again to you and Franky for your hospitality last August when I spent a lovely afternoon at your place with Roland. All the best, Jeremy (from LA) | |
| 3 |
Larry Pennisi |
Gary, may you have the happiest of birthdays. Always remember the joy that you have given to us all through your music. It may be your birthday but you are the one giving the gift. May you continue to shine brightly. Your music has changed my life for the better and for that I shall always be indebted. Music is the greatest gift of all. Play on and on and on ... | |
| 4 |
Ragnar Søberg |
Happy birthday, Gary. You're still on top of it. Keep up your good work. From Ragnar in Norway | |
| 5 |
Allen Edelist |
Too many miles and not enough time! But somehow I keep coming back because nobody has brought the joy of music to my life any more than Procol Harum! So here's to you on your day of joy, and One Eye On The Future! Peace, health, and happiness to you and Franky, and see ya soon for another drink. Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! With love and respect, Øne-Eye | |
| 6 |
George Bertok |
Dual birthday greetings from myself, a proud Paler, and Polly Punter, who runs a pub here in Peterborough ...your music has been a great inspiration to me. May the good ship Procol sail on! | |
| 7 |
Bert and Carina Saraco |
Best wishes from New York! It's been great spending the past several decades enjoying your music on vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD, VHS, DVD, and, especially – live! Your gift to us through the years has been more than we can adequately thank you for. We can only wish the best for you and Franky – many more years of happiness and good health. God bless you both. Shine On, indeed. | |
| 8 | Judith Gardner | Happy Day! Thank you for the music. Judith (So Fond of Music and Edgar Allan Poe) | |
| 9 |
Toshiya Hyakuma |
I send you my heartiest congratulations on your 60th birthday. Your music has always enriched my life. I also thanks BtP for giving me an opportunity to send my greetings to the Commander from Yokohama, Japan. | |
| 10 |
Jennifer Holloway |
Dear Gary, you have given us some of the best memories of our lives. Because of you, we have seen places in this world we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Seeing Procol Harum in concert have been the highlights of our trips to Manchester, LA, and London. We anxiously await the next time we can see you and the band perform. We are proud to call ourselves Procol Harum Groupies! May you have a wonderful, wonderful birthday – and many more! God bless, Kerry and Jen (Connecticut, USA) | |
| 11 |
Beverly Peyton |
To Gary on this special day I'd like to take the time to say, How much I wish for you and yours And give you back without a flaw. You've given more and made our days When we can listen to you play. For all you do comes from within It speaks to us and makes us grin. You've got a way that makes us swell And silly poems like this don't tell, The love and joy you make us feel Even when you leave the wheel. |
You know we ache for every song I think it's great you make us long. But on this day, your birthday thus ... I give your Mom and Dad A plus. I thank them more than words can say It's something they did that made you this way. I thank them more than words can say It's they who gave us you today. I thank them more than words can say Here's wishing you an extra special day! Much love Beverly – xoxox |
| 12 |
D Anger |
Happy birthday, best wishes for you, Gary; and for the fans, at least one new Procol Harum album until the 40th anniversary of AWSoP ! D Anger, Kiel, Germany | |
| 13 | Ian Hockley | All good wishes Gary on this auspicious day: you're the reason I became a musician and you are still my inspiration. Music is truly the food of love and, please, play on! Warm regards, Ian | |
| 14 | Thomas Raa Olsen | Greetings from Denmark! Model cars or what ever – I respect and understand your need for amusement, but since my ninth year you gave all the pleasure and none of the pain. It will always be love – and I will wait here for the band to play. Have a wonderful birthday. | |
| 15 | Stefano and Andrea Ciccioriccio | Happy Birthday Maestro, 100 more of these days! This will mean 100 more years of exceptional music from an exceptional man. Thanks to exist! | |
| 16 | Hans Volkhardt | Dear Gary, best wishes to your birthday from the crazy Germans Hans, Peter, Doris, Dani. We always remember the unforgettable Christmas lunch last year near Chiddingfold. Have a nice day with your family and friends. | |
| 17 | François Courvoisier | Congratulations and very happy
anniversary! It's great that you go on touring with a Procol Harum band
that is musically tighter than ever. I am particularly grateful that you
play twice in Switzerland this year, in Bern and Basel. As you said it
during the concert of Bern, joking in presenting your band: "I am
Albert Einstein!". Yes, Gary, you and Keith are genius of music and
poetry and your timeless works will last over the relativity of time and
space. Best wishes from Switzerland, to you and Franky. François "Cognac" Courvoisier |
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| 18 | Rait Herman | Happy Birthday, Gary. I hope you have energy to work with Procol for many many years more. Best wishes from Estonia. | |
| 19 | Guy Vignard | This world is rich and your music is part of its treasure. We thank you for this invaluable present and sincerely wish you a "Bon Anniversaire", Gary. Nadine, Pierre, Claire and Guy in Metz (Lorraine), France. | |
| 20 | Robert and Joanna Lukowski | Best wishes to your birthday from Polish fans Robert, Joanna: greetings from Poland! | |
| 21 | Wanda Saggese | Happy birthday Gary! All my best wishes for you, from the youngest Procol fan! I'm sure you will go on for another 100 years always in this way which is the best. With so much love Wanda, in Italy | |
| 22 | Alan Matthews | Very best wishes on your birthday Gary, and a million thanks for the joy and inspiration your musical endeavours have given me over the years. I raise a glass to your and Franky's health and happiness. From Alan Matthews in South Devon. | |
| 23 | Jeff Levine | Here's wishing you a very happy 60th. It seems quite odd to say 60th as I often remember the first time we met at the Plaza Hotel, as we watched A Clockwork Orange in your hotel Room way back in the 70s. So here we are, you're 60, I'm 50. So let's keep it going as age is just a number. You have been like a fine wine and have gotten better with age. Procol MUST continue. Happy Birthday from Brookerfan. | |
| 24 | Charlie Allison | Very hearty birthday greetings, Gary! A 60th Birthday is a milestone to celebrate along life's road, but nowadays not one at which to necessarily slow down or retire. If you are still feeling creative and enthusiastic, Gary, then we grateful fans are all eager and ready to hear further masterworks from you. Your most famous piece is some 40 years behind, but your best work may be still to come in the next decade. Great things have been achieved in the past – and in the recent past with the last CD, DVD and the charity work for the Tsunami – but we all look forward to further new music, collaborations with younger musicians, fame in your own land – but above all, health and happiness with your own family, and your international "family" of admirers. It would be sensible to plan a whole month of decadent celebrations to do the occasion justice – drink a few good bottles of wine, rest up and plan for the future. Good luck in all that you do. | |
| 25 | Paul Toms | Happy birthday Gary, thanks for all the great music over the years. Will be toasting you in the Queen's Head, Barns Green today. Long may you reign. Paul and Jill | |
| 26 | Alfred Noll | Happy Birthday, Gary. Thank you very much for the invaluable music that you have given us over the years. Enjoy this very special day in a very special way. I wish you and Franky all the best as well as new inspiration for a new album.:-)))) I will be attending you concert on 18 June 2005 in Pratteln close to Basel. Needless to say that I am looking forward to it. Have a great day! Alfred "Curry" Noll, Zurich/Switzerland | |
| 27 | Solvej Hansen | Happy birthday Gary. 60 years is many years but as long as you stay young in your mind you will never feel old. Thanks for two very good concerts this year in Copenhagen and in Århus; looking forward to the next time we meet. "Thank you for the music", like ABBA sings in one of their songs. Many greetings from Solvej, Carsten and Helene | |
| 28 | Marvin Chassman | Happy 60th, Gary! Wishing you many more happy birthdays (and concerts and CDs as well). Thanks for everything, from Wappingers Falls, NY! | |
| 29 | Nick Bishop | Have a great day Gary. First saw PH at the Free Trade Hall Manchester circa 1974, and still loving the music. Thanks Commander. | |
| 30 | Matilde Arenholt Mosekjaer | Dear Gary, Happy birthday and the best wishes from all of us - my boyfriend, my entire family and I. I still enjoy to sing A Salty Dog" all day long. Best regards, Matilde (the girl with the Salty Dog from Denmark) | |
| 31 | Jeff Melton | It was my pleasure to interview you at the Progman 2003 show in Seattle, Gary. Please keep up the good work and do your best to stay in good health! Jeff Melton, Staff Writer, Exposé Magazine | |
| 32 | Joseph DePinto | Happy Birthday Gary! I first saw the band at the Fillmore East in 1970 and the last time was in the summer 2003 in VERY hot Scottsdale AZ. Many dates in between those. You have given me a lifetime of musical joy. Thanks so much and enjoy the day. | |
| 33 | Titti and Jens from BtP |
Dear Gary, We wish you a VERY happy birthday and all the best for the future. Your music has meant a lot to us over the years. And it still does. Thanks for all friendliness. And keep shining on! | |
| 34 | Kjell Dahlgren | Have a nice day, and don't forget your "Homburg". Best regards, Kjell from Sweden | |
| 35 | Jukka-Pekka Koskinen | Best wishes to Gary, hope you celebrate your day at Grand Hotel with great meal and wines. I've been loving your music from sixties and still do. Best Wishes, Jukkis from Turku Finland | |
| 36 | François Vidonne | Happy birthday from a French admirer. From Salty Dog to the most recent performances, you have always given us refined and deep emotions. Thanks! | |
| 37 | Gerard York | Happy Birthday Gary and thank you for all the great music! Come see us in Florida – the fishing is great! | |
| 38 | Marc Lauper | Meilleurs voeux pour votre 60ème anniversaire, cher Gary. Au son de votre musique il fait bon vivre ... | |
| 39 | Gianluigi Stella | Tanti auguri , Happy birthday from Italy! PROCOL HARUM n°1 in my life. Ciao | |
| 40 | Ulrich Rautenberg | Dear Gary, Happy Birthday to You. Watch out while 'skipping a light Fandango and turning cartwheels 'cross the floor' ;-) | |
| 41 | Steve Gaydich | Gary, Camper Steve here from Tacoma have a Wonderful #60! I will always Cherish the fact that I got to spend time with you and the rest of the guys a few years back in Seattle with Dave Lanz and Jeff Simmons. Say hi to Matt for me. Peace. | |
| 42 | Ben Kanis | 60 huh ,well, congratulations from a fan since AWSoP, Ben (Holland) | |
| 43 | Hanspeter Nadler | Best wishes, Gary! The most important influence to my life as a Piano teacher and a performer of Church Music was (and is still) your Music and this from GF Handel. Thank you very much for your music! | |
| 44 | Steve Felix | I've been with you a long time Gary. Saw you in Aix-en-Provence; you've never sounded better and it's a great band. All the best. | |
| 45 | Joe Croce | Happiest of birthdays, Gary. Thank you so much for all you have given us thru the music of Procol Harum. Your music has been extra special to me from the very first time I ever heard it, and knowing what a great human being you are enhances it even further! | |
| 46 | George Bryce | Thank you Gary for contributing to make my youthful years (in the late 1960s and early 1970s) a wonderful adventure of song and imagery that has continued to this day on a solid foundation of PC sound. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed your last - albeit somewhat "intimate" - concert here in Vancouver (on Canada's "Wet" Coast) and only hope that you and your bandmates will find it in your hearts to return again some day soon. All the best on your 60th! | |
| 47 | Willy Delporte | Congratulations Gary, your music is the our. You are a great composer, singer and Commander for the best group called Procol Harum of which I am fan since 1967 and still for a lot of years. It is always with much pleasure that I listen your songs. With love and humility, your best fan for a long time. Friendly and sincerely, Willy | |
| 48 | Geir Olav Granbo | Keep going on. Saw you all in Trondheim this March. You were fantastic. | |
| 49 | Mitch Green | HAPPY BIRTHDAY from a fan who had saw you at Queen's College in THE EARLY 70s – THAT was THE BEST LIVE CONCERT I had ever saw, especially the encore was old rock and roll! 8-) And to make this even a small world I am an old friend of MARTY ROSENBLUM a chap you had met some time ago. Again, have a great birthday and keep that style of PH go on. | |
| 50 | Peter Kuppers | Happy Birthday from Maastricht, Gary, and many more concerts to come! | |
| 51 | Schweizer family | Dear Gary, Happy Birthday and the
best wishes for you from Gammen near Bern, Switzerland. Thank you very
much for so many happy hours and moments you give us with your wonderful
and emotional music. This year we had the opportunity to hear you and Procol Harum in Paris and in Bern and we will see you again in a few days in Pratteln/Basel. Have a good time and take care of you - God bless you. With best regards, Anita and Beat Schweizer (Parents); Melanie and Thomas (Juniors) |
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| 52 | Brian Berg | I still listen to your first Procol Harum album in the spirit in which it was made – a spirit that rings on after oh-so-many years. Go in peace on this, your day. Brian, Saratoga, California. | |
| 53 | Willy Silard | "When I get older, losing my hair..........", 4 years to wait ! I began to lose mine long years ago (yes, yes); just hope you never wear hat like me (except when it rains). I look like you with my black and white beard but, "I 'm still loving you "(you are a friend of 35 years, mwarffffffffffff). I always remember listening to In Held 'Twas in I with my parents, in the dark, in Paris, France. Many grateful thanks and keep on keeping on, really. WILLY aka HUMPHREY. | |
| 54 | Jan and Dean Davis | Keep on rockin' Gary ... age is just a number, you're never too old to have fun! Happy 60th! Always a Procol Harum fan! ALWAYS! | |
| 55 | David LaFond | Happy Birthday and thank you for so many years of sharing your great music with all of us. David, Grand Rapids, MI | |
| 56 | Patricio Duran | I hope you have a happy birthday, thank you very much for all the music you gave me. All the best from Argentina. | |
| 57 | Mark Allister | Gary, Fantastic memories of mid-70s at Brum Town Hall. We're both silver sailors now and have a great birthday and keep on rocking. | |
| 58 | Juice Huhtala | The Commander,
there is still time I must pay my respect and I came to cheer at you and I leave now happily and as the applause begins to raise I see there is not just one, but everyone and you came with music held high you did not only conquer, you did something more Congratulations for the full sixth round Gary, it's only the beginning! |
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| 59 | Chuck Wright | Happy Birthday you Salty Dog! One of these days, you're going to have to visit Michigan and we'll show you how to celebrate. Lots of Procol Harum fans here Gary. All My best, Chuck | |
| 60 | Aric Effron | Happy B-day Gary! You are the best singer in Rock. Procol Rules 4 Ever. | |
| 61 | Pierre Godbout | Bonjour Gary, Bonne Fête ... et s'il vous plait, venez nous voir au Canada au moins une autre fois. Take this moment for you and Françoise to reflect and enjoy yourselves on this special day! God bless you! Christine et Pierre (toujours la bienvenue) (toujours l'amour) | |
| 62 | Mark Mooney | "Happy Birthday young man" from Southern California! Come back to Los Angeles and we'll hold back the rain this time. | |
| 63 | Karl Schwab | Dear Gary, A very happy birthday, health and good luck for the years to come and – above all – that your genius and creativity may go on blooming the way they have done all these years. I count myself among the happy ones who could witness this in 1973 in Frankfurt and in 2003 in Cologne. Shine on ! Charley | |
| 64 | Leonardo Viani | Happy Birthday Gary, and God bless you (... and your voice and inspiration ...) for the next 60! Leonardo (from Italy) | |
| 65 | Werner Brunner | Happy birthday, Gary! Please stay as our maestro and let us hear much more new music works at the future too! | |
| 66 | Marianne and Wolfgang Lieke | Hi Gary, best
wishes, congratulations, thanks for the joy of music, thanks for the fun
in all these years. Warm greetings to Franky who is keeping you in that shape for the times to come. |
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| 67 | Brian Becker | From across the pond: Birthday Greetings may the second 60 years be as rewarding as the first. Come back across and visit us again soon!! With love from Loyal Derby, Connecticut, USA. P.S. The Well's on Fire is a great album." | |
| 68 | Diane Cooke | He's a jolly good fellow! Gary, many heartfelt regards on your 60th birthday. I'm so glad PH is still going strong and I'm happy to have gotten to see you play at the Bloomsbury Theatre last March. I'm really enjoying your current line-up. Hope to see you again soon. Happy Birthday from Virginia Beach, Virginia. | |
| 69 | Russell and Maxine Murphy | Gary, sincere best wishes @ 60. Have fun and keep rockin', from "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" Museum, Surfers' Paradise, Australia. | |
| 70 | Vasco Baptista | Happy birthday from a Portuguese fan. Be blessed for all the emotions and great performances you gave us. Thanks you Gary, long living for you: see in one hundred years! | |
| 71 | John Etherington | Wishing you a very Happy Birthday, Gary! May I also take this opportunity to thank you for four decades of wonderful music, and most especially for A Salty Dog. I first saw you live at Extravaganza '70 at Olympia in London, and most recently at The Bloomsbury Theatre and Guildford Cathedral. Since the fashion is to play whole albums live, let's have the Shine On Brightly Concert next! Looking forward to many great concerts in the years to come. As a Gemini, age is definitely on your side! Very best wishes, John | |
| 72 | Bruce Donley | Sir Gary – Happy 60th from the home of rock'n'roll! Keep flyin' the flag high and best wishes to all! Bruce, Memphis, TN | |
| 73 | Wieslaw Cienciala | Best wishes from Poland! Thank you, Gary, for all your and Procol Harum's songs. We all are waiting for the next album :-) | |
| 74 | Bill Korhely | Happy Birthday Gary from 'Arizona Bill'. We met in Mainz, Germany when you gave the free concert at the radio station. The time went by fast! That was July 2003! Keep up the great music! | |
| 75 | John Struk | I have two to go and will be 60 also: I hope mine will be good as yours looks to be ! Happy Birthday Gary from a fan of 30+ years. | |
| 76 | Christina and Lars-Gunnar Hermansson | Dear Gary, Happy
Birthday..... and many many more! Thanks for all of the wonderful music
you've given to us. I look forward to many more years of your excellent work. Best Wishes from Christina and Lars-Gunnar, Sweden |
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| 77 | Luis Saraiva | Happy birthday, Gary. Your voice and songs have been an inspiration to lots of people for over three decades. May your star keep shining on brightly for many years to come. From Luis in Portugal | |
| 78 | Robert Moselle, Kristen Knutson and Bill Lordan | A Happy Birthday
to you, Sir, Your Band could not be grander. From England to around the horn, You are, indeed, Commander. |
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| 79 | Sergio D'Oliveira | Happy birthday, just don't turn cartwheels across the floor, they're very dangerous at 60. | |
| 80 | Bruce Grosvenor | Happy sixtieth Gary! I'm proud to call myself a Procoholic but more especially a Brookerholic! Best wishes from Virginia | |
| 81 | Maureen Finn | Happy Birthday Gary, and may God bless you all the days of your life. Have a wonderful day. From Maureen in New Jersey | |
| 82 | Daniel and Diane Mantha | Happy Birthday, Gary. Hope you have many more years to come so that we can hear some more new Procol Harum songs. Come back to Montreal again soon ... loved your last show at the Montreal Spectrum. | |
| 83 | Brian Brooks | Happy Birthday Gary. Shine on Brightly mate! | |
| 84 | Doug | Happy 60th Gary, from a fan who first saw the band while ushering at the Palace Theatre in Columbus at age 13 while you were on the 'Live in Concert' tour! Shine on! | |
| 85 | Jim Krapf | Happy 60th Birthday, Gary. We met briefly in Guildford and in Kristiansand and me and my wife had wonderful vacations because of your getting the band back together. Procol Harum has always been where I go to find peace and inspiration and your CD, Within Our House helped my wife recover from a brain operation. I played it for her every morning during her recovery and it seemed to give her motivation to face the day, each day one at a time. We wish you much fulfilment with the current lineup of Procol and in your quest to catch the big one! Best wishes from small-town Midwest, USA | |
| 86 | Roger Ilott and Penny Davies | Congratulations, Gary - you continue to be an inspiration. Thanks for the wonderful body of musical work you have created. Keep it up! Roger, Penny and Jordy | |
| 87 | Dennis Grant | Hi Gary Happy birthday from fans "Down Under". You might recall we met you (myself Terre and Nicole) at Chris Copping's house in Melbourne during the Ultimate Rock Series. What a great thrill it was for me. Best wishes "mate" and keep up the good work. | |
| 88 | The Sacred CowBoys | Yo, Gary! Happy 60 and here's to 60 more! Let that third eye shine on brightly, and many thanks for the joy, the thunder, and the sublime, aka all the great music you've given us over the years. From a band in Philly that loves you and PH, The Sacred CowBoys. | |
| 89 | Bob Kloner | Dear Gary, Wishing you a very Happy Birthday ! Have fond memories of Procol Harum's last visit to the city of Los Angeles and finally having the opportunity to meet you and the band at the Palers' get-together at BB King's. Hope that Procol plays again in the US, soon. Best wishes, DJ number 6 from UCLA radio. | |
| 90 | Steve Verba | Best wishes on your big birthday – you've kept the fires bright for all of us; thanks! | |
| 91 | Gehr Brown | Gary, congrats on the big 6 0. I hope it has been a special day for you. Could never thank you enough for all of the great music you and PH have brought to my life over the past 38 years. May God bless you. | |
| 92 | Stan and Mary Berman | I first saw the band at the Fillmore East in 1968 and last at the Fillmore West last year with at least a dozen times between and I can't say it was any less exciting or exemplary last year. My wife who had never seen the band was impressed and found you to be "the most attractive older man" from close up at the Fillmore: "He looked like a king." So at sixty you are as great as ever and we look forward to more excellence to come. | |
| 93 | Davey Morton | Happy Birthday from North Carolina. I have been a big fan of your music since first hearing AWSoP. And I've got to tell you, your voice sounds just as good as it did back then! Stay happy and healthy, and give us many more years of music! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! | |
| 94 | Eddie Sherrick | Hey Gary happy 60th; I first seen you in Philly 1972 and then later with Tull, got a lot of your music and it has gave me great joy, thank and enjoy your day. | |
| 95 | Otto von Ruggins | ... And so it was that later (much
later), and a long way from 'Denver' (now Otto von Ruggins), I send you
this cryptic, unGodzly birthday greeting. You may recall Robin asking me
during an interview when I complained about the Salty Dog cover,
"Do you want a job?" I showed up at A&R Studios for your
live WPLJ broadcast after Robin and Matthew were history and suggested to
Keith that you needed a full-time organ player, instead of Copping out.
That same night it was confirmed that the manager who had me audition for
his band, leading to my Vox organ being stolen, had indeed delivered on
his promise to make it up to me, as he professed that the Hammond M I
picked up at his parents' garage in NJ (that had been delivered there by
mistake), was truly Matthew's (custom two parts, with 'The Fish' label on
top, and I heard you declaring to some people after the show that,
"Matthew's lost his organ – he can't remember where he left it")! Next thing I know, I get a call to meet you at the Record Plant at 1 am. Who knew you kept such hours (I thought you were just getting rid of me)? I was playing some of that 'arty' stuff on the piano when you walked in and we did some demos for Jim McCarthy(?), formerly of the Godz. On your return to London, there was an ad for an organist for Procol Harum in Melody Maker. The Bottom Line is that I had never been to the club in all my years in NY until you played there on Mother's Night two years ago – a great two-setter, with Matthew back, full circle. For a grand finale, as I was writing this email to you, Little Steven played Shine on Brightly on his Underground Garage Show on your birthday (wishing you a happy birthday and declaring Procol to be one of the greatest bands in the world – and that you should be in the 'Hall of Fame')! Hoping your life flame shines on brightly for many more years and that we meet again ... I am, Otto von Ruggins, Master of the Unheard Øf |
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| 96 | Tom Henel | Gary, when I was
17 and you were 22, I purchased a vinyl record album here in New Jersey by
a group called Procol Harum that changed my life ... isn't that what it's
all about? Changing lives with the universal language? It is such a joy to
see you still making wonderful music in the year 2005, some few years
after those uplifting beginnings ... Thank you for taking care of yourself
and your muse so that we have you here to celebrate your 60th. All the
best to you, Gary Brooker! How about adding some concerts here in the States to your tour plans? I was at The Bottom Line in NYC in 2003, and it was the best I ever heard the group, better than the performance at The Felt Forum in 1973. Happy Birthday, Gary, from Linden, New Jersey! |
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| 97 | Peter Horsey | I know that birthdays don't get any more exciting as the years roll on, but have a great day and thanks for 35 years of irreplaceable and inimitable music. | |
| 98 | Dennis Fetchet | Happy Birthday Gary. I'll take the 'Old Lamps' any day! Thanks for everything you and PH continue doing. All the best on the big Six Oh! Paler Dennis F | |
| 99 | Søren Lykke Jensen | My daughter and I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and thank you for the wonderful music you and the rest of Procol Harum have give us up through the years. I have been a fan since the very start in 1967, whereas my daughter of 17 has been a fan for the last 10 years. We hope to see the band soon again in Copenhagen. Kind regards, Albertha and Søren. | |
| 100 | Andrea Grasso | Best wishes for your 60th birthday, Mr Brooker! May you continue your wonderful life with passion, love and music ... hope to meet you one day! Andrea from Italy | |
| 101 | Erik Edston | Hello Gary Brooker. I wish you a happy new decade with at least two new albums. Your music has lived with me and shone on brightly since 1967. Erik, your one and foremost fan in Sweden. | |
| 102 | Jørgen Olsen | Dear Gary! Thank you for many great moments of listening to records and of three concerts I've been to: Odense 1975, Aalborg 2003 and Århus 2005! Thank you for your original contribution to the world of music! | |
| 103 | Emanuele Paternoster | Happy birthday Gary, and thank you for the wonderful music you given to us. I hope to see you soon again in Rome. | |
| 104 | Anne Faulkner | A very happy birthday to you from a fellow Gemini (mine was the 28th.) Your music has been part of my life for 40 years, thank you. Keep up the good work! | |
| 105 | Lutz Gründer | Dear Gary, thanks for writing excellent stuff that still feeds my cd/dvd player. A lot of friends always ask "Who's that?" ... and I am quite proud to explain! Wishing you healthy and creative years with new songs coming up and some nice concerts in the "FABRIK" in Hamburg. | |
| 106 | Richard Sanders | Thanks for all the great music and for still coming to see your fans at venues like Club Riga. Keep on composing classic songs. | |
| 107 | Mike Masterton | Dear Commander, I hope this finds
you well and hearty on your special day; I was around in 1967 when I took
AWSoP into a pub in south-east London and got the bar keeper to play
it and play it. On first hearing the wonderful organ and unusual voice I
was hooked and been hooked ever since. My very favourite of ALL time.
Thank you Sir. VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY. |
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| 108 | Avril Brad | Many birthday
greetings to you Gary ... I wonder where 60 lies on the spectrum of the
Beanstalk ... but anyway I wish you a very long stalk ... and hope you had a great bash.... I totally agree with the comments re: Shine on Brightly ... a most excellent (prog) rock album. |
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| 109 | Bob and Janice Grandcolas | To the greatest song writer, pianist, singer combination of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Happy Birthday Gary from your fans from the USA! | |
| 110 | Peter Kühn |
Dear Gary, I wish you have had a
wonderful birthday ceremony. Best wishes from a longtime fan from Hamburg,
Germany (who with his wife was a delighted auditor on your last Hamburg
concert at the famous "Fabrik"). Your musical style and the
wonderful way you put classical music into rock made my life so much
richer. I wanna thank you for that ... Keep on going creating such
wonderful sounds. As a record collector I assembled all of your
productions; first on LPs, than on MCs und now on CDs and DVDs. I am a documentary journalist at
Germany's biggest news magazine Der Spiegel. A colleague and a dear
friend of mine is an absolute hard core Procol Harum fan. He had taped a
PH-concert at the Musikhalle in Hamburg in the early seventies and made a
rare copy of it for me. The hidden gem of that concert was the famous Adagio
di Albinoni. This title wasn't available in Germany since the triple
CD from Repertoire records (A & B – The singles). Alongside
him I was it seemed one of the only people in Germany who had a recording
of that fine music piece! Which made me very proud of! |
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| 111 | Harald Erb | Happy birthday, good luck and all the best for the future to Gary. Thanks for all the music you've given to us. I hope you will stay well for for the future and I am looking forward to see you some time again. | |
| 112 | Bjørn Røvær | Hi Gary, Happy
Birthday from Haugesund. Thank you for two great concerts in Festiviteten
Concert Hall in March, as well as the fishing trip and much fun. Your
music has for 30+ years been an important part of my life and will always be. Greetings also from Tina. All the best for the future. |
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| 113 | Hans Bundgaard | Happy Birthday Gary Brooker. I'm glad, every time you are visiting Denmark with Procol Harum. I'm every time visiting your concerts – your music is one of the most emotional classical popmusik in the world. | |
| 114 | Richard Curreri | Happy Birthday Gary. It was in 1960-something that my brother took me with him to see the Byrds at the Fillmore East. Procol was the opening act. Right then your music hit me like a hammer. It's been a great ride since then. God Bless. | |
| 115 | Niels-Erik Mortensen | The Danish Procoholics salute our
great Commander on this very special occasion and hope for many, many
hours to come in his company. We also want to express our deep admiration
and appreciation for his long-time work as a composer, singer and pianist
within or without Procol Harum. Our best wishes should also be extended to
his family and kin, especially Madame Franky for her loving understanding
of a man we Procoholics love so fondly too. Shine on! Niels-Erik, chairman on behalf of The Society of Danish Procoholics. |
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| 116 | Jim Hunter | Congratulations to one of the most influential singer/composers we've had in rock since ... . Maybe I'll eventually get round to seeing you at one of the German concerts this year. The last time was around 1974 in some cinema in the north of London, at a concert organised by Capital Radio! Keep well and happy! | |
| 117 | Dave Levine | You've aged well. I am forever grateful you have remained true to your sound. I look forward to many more great songs. I still listen to you and the sound of old Procol Harum on a weekly basis. I grew up in LA seeing you at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. I am now 52 and live in Green Bay, WI. | |
| 118 | Christian Berthier | Happy birthday! Thanks Gary and PH for your music. I enjoy it from the beginning. Some of your songs are part of mine. | |
| 119 | Paul Kelly | Congratulations Gary on your big 60 with many more years to come. I will never forget the concert in 1972 at the John F Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in which this new group called THE EAGLES was the back-up opening act. Keep strong for the inspiration of others. Good luck and hope to see you back in the US again. | |
| 120 | Vince Rampino | Dear Gary, happy and healthy 60th birthday! Now get back to New York and play for us! | |
| 121 | Antonio Cesarano | Dear Gary, have all the happiness your music gave to me in all these years, listening to and trying to play it. A toast with Matthew. See you again in Milano. | |
| 122 | Bob Lawrie | All the best at 60 – your music continues to challenge, provoke and excite – a unique legacy. Bob, Vancouver | |
| 123 | Peter Hummers | "When I was born I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do." Wisdom of Solomon vii. 3. And the rest is ongoing history! My rich musical life would simply not have been the same without you, Gary -- here's to sixty more! | |
| 124 | Philippe Gobert | Shade of pale was a gem, of course, but when I heard Homburg some months later, I knew a genius was at work writing the soundtrack of my life. You never failed doing this. Happy birthday Gary and I just want to say THANK YOU MAN. | |
| 125 | Mick Leonard | Dear Mr Brooker: I have been a devoted fan of your music since 1967 when, as a 17 year-old American student musician, I spent most of the summer, in London, immersing myself in the music of that truly magical time and place. In the ensuing years I have been blessed to earn my keep as a guitarist / composer / arranger and high on my list of reasons for whatever measure of success I have enjoyed is the inspiration and joy I have received as result of listening to your music. Myself and many of my fellow American studio musicians hold you and your band mates in extremely high regard and are influenced by the high standards you have set in every area of both your art and craft. God bless and keep you and your family and enjoy the happiest of birthdays and many more to come! Sincerely, Mick | |
| 126 | Karla Sona | Feliz Cumpleaños
to a man who has meant so much to me for the past 35+ years ... you are
now and have always been an inspiration to me and millions of others ... .
I snuck out, lied to my parents, went places I never had permission to go
... and got punished a whole lot. but it was all worth it to see you the
so many times that I did in and around the NY area in the late 60s and
early 70s. I only regret that I can only see you on video now...have
not been to a live concert for many years ... I do however, have many PH songs in my iPOD which I work out to ... who would ever have thought of someone exercising to PH music ... well, I guess the world keeps turning and we all progress ... Happy, Happy Birthday Gary ... and many more. Love, Karla |
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| 127 | Carmine La Rosa | Gary, At near sixty, I look back on
my life and remember the more memorable events that have shaped this
pilgrim's progress. Hearing the music of Procol Harum was an event
that changed my life forever. Your music has inspired me, and
continues to do so, more so than any other melodies that I've heard in my
life. The sound is mysterious and hauntingly beautiful at the same
time, weaving a tapestry of stories of tales untold. It beckons you
to listen and follow the tale of distant shore to the inner soul. A
sound like no other: classic rock with the signature flavor of traditional
classical. Your music and Keith's lyrics is and will always be Procol
Harum to me. Thank you for giving the world the great gift of your music. "And as I walk with nature far, hand-in-hand, I hear the breeze of Piano Grande." |
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| 128 | Pascal Tassy | Happy 60th, Gary. Since 1967 at the Paris Olympia your music never left my mind ... cheers! | |
| 129 | Margrit and Carlo Buletti | Our best wishes to a great man for
his special day! It's always been music that makes the world go round, and
Procol Harum's given it this extra kick again and again! May the sun keep
smiling on you, dear Gary, and may many colourful flowers (sprinkling ones and others!) accompany you – and no nasty mosquitoes trouble you ever! Happiness, joy and good health to you and Franky! |
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| 130 | Unsteady Freddie | Gary! Bless you on
this special day. You are a special gentleman. And I love you for all the
warmth you've shown me over the last 33 years we've known each other (and
the love you showed my Mom as well!). Totally dig your music today as
much, Hell, no, even more, than when I first heard it in the 1960s – and
the ongoing years. How blessed are we all to still have you in our lives,
to continue to make such wondrous music and perform live? Special nod and hugs to Franky for being the great woman that she is, standing at your side – you are quite blessed, mon ami! Procol Harum has gotten me through some tough moments (I "ain't gonna ride that whisky train" any more!), and enhanced the good moments as well. With all my heart and soul, Je t'aime Gary. |
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| 131 | Silvio Arbiser | Best wishes, dear Gary from
ARGENTINA! I'm "your Argentine friend Silvio " who was very
lucky to meet you at Cambridge, Mass. in 2003. Thank you for making my life more enjoyable: long live the commander! |
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| 132 | Scott Willens | Gary ... have a great 60th birthday; to a great musician. You have given us great music and have obtained immortality for your gift. | |
| 133 | Joey Barbosa | Feliz Cumpleanos, Gary. I hope that you continue to bring us your wonderful music, for many more years. | |
| 134 | Robert Morse | Best wishes to you on your sixtieth birthday. And thank you for many hours of great music on record and in concert. | |
| 135 | Gunnar Erlandsson |
Thanks for almost 40 years of very, very great and unique music – records and concerts. I have been following you through all those years and it has given me a lot. My only regret is that there has been too little new music in later years. Please make new PH albums! The latest, NOT the last, was a truly great one and one of the best. Your music, just like your voice and singing, is truly a gift to us all, which I am deeply thankful for. Heartfelt congratulations from Sweden | |
| 136 | Cinzia Tona Stark | So much love is being sent to you through these birthday emails! I do hope you can feel it from all of us around the world! Procol has been such a HUGE part of my life – to have the opportunity to wish you well on your special day and to imagine you might be reading this is almost more than I can take! From upstate New York (Syracuse), I hope you and your loved ones had a delightful celebration! Just caught you on the Ovation channel over the weekend (Live at Union Chapel), although nothing could compare with seeing you at the Fillmore East back in 1970! Well, maybe watching the DVD Procol Harum – The Best of Musikladen as I take my bath!! Can you imagine? I bring in my portable DVD player and voila! There you and the boys are! Incroyable! May you have many more years of health and happiness! My very best to you and I thank you for all you've given us – I remain, most humbly – Cinzia | |
| 137 | Tony O' Prey | Lá breithe shona, Gary, ó do mhóidiní í nEireann (happy birthday Gary, from your fans in Ireland) | |
| 138 | Pat Reid | Best wishes to Gary and family from your number one Irish fan ... ever since Pandora's Box first transfixed me on a crackly Radio Luxembourg show in the summer of 1975. It's rare to unique that a 'star' turns out to also be such a decent and self-deprecating person. Beannacht De. | |
| 139 | Antonio Costa Barbé | I was away for a while, nonetheless – settin' aside the delay – I will write down here my mammoth esteem for the Maestro and wish to him all the best, and to Procol's music a vivid reverberation in the whole world. | |
| 140 | Bob Apczynski |
Happy Birthday Gary and thanks for so many years of great music! I hope that you tour the States again soon! |
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| 141 | Michael Belanger | Happy Birthday Gary. Your music still inspires me today as it did when I first heard Procol Harum in '69. Hope you will give a thought to touring the US again. We need culture here desperately. | |
| 142 | Kathy Durante | A very Happy Birthday to you. We have been fans since '67 and eagerly await your return to USA. How about a Christmas album? Enjoy your special day. Kathy and Joe, Philadelphia. | |
| 143 | George Foster | Gary, have a great birthday. I have Whiter Shade as my ringtone on my cell 'phone. You are the man. | |
| 144 | Denny Polen | Happy Birthday
Gary! I am a huge fan of your music and have been so from the first time I
saw Procol live at the Palm Springs Pop festival in the late '60s through
your performance two years ago at John Anson Ford Theatre. I can't wait for the next Procol recording. God bless you, Denny. |
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| 145 | Mike Kemper | Hello Gary, wow 60th. Almost doesn't seem possible. Anyway met you at the last LA gig back at the club, after the rain out. Incredible performances at both venues. Anyway, many happy returns and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will never have any credibility until you and Keith and/or the group are inducted. Best wishes, Mike | |
| 146 | Steve Yanicak | A very Happy Birthday to you Gary, a real pleasure to live these times with you! I'm looking forward to a long-lasting and peaceful effect on the state-of-our-planet by your continued musical form of art. | |
| 147 | Rob Fullone | Happy Birthday Gary! Still remember listening to Simple Sister blasting out of the speakers of my old red Torino in 1971! Been drawn back to the music with The Well's on Fire. You sound better than ever! Please visit the States again and we hope to see you in Chicago! | |
| 148 | Gerd Müller | Dear Gary, I wish you all the best und keep on realizing your great ideas ... and by the next way great concerts in Germany again. Here my site to you and your great band, sorry but only in German language. | |
| 149 | Tom Frohlichstein | Congrats on your career reaching its half-way point! Looking forward to what is to come. | |
| 150 | Umberto Borellini | Dear Gary, for an
"old salt" ... happy birthday and good luck from Italy! Today is
exp. date for our baby ... your Youngest Fan! We wait for her until
midnight ... a more reason to became your darling! Umberto and Lori in Milan (and, retrospectively, the newborn Aurora) |
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| 151 | Rolf Kindler | Happy Birthday, Gary. Best wishes to you. Thank you from a fan who first saw the band at the Concert in Stuttgart / Germany together with the Bee Gees in 1968. See you in Basel ... Shine on. | |
| 152 | John Cook | Thanks Gary for all the music. Everything with Procol Harum, the solo stuff, the Shoes, the Ensemble, the Guildford gigs, the Rhythm Kings, the Everything. It's all so inspirational. Thank you so much. | |
| 153 | Linda and Roland from BtP |
Gary, Happy Birthday to you! Many thanks for all the inspiring concerts and recordings down the years – we've both been hooked since May 1967 and we look forward to continuing this amazing and varied musical ride with you. Great thanks also to you and Franky for your friendly encouragement of all the fan activity during 'the Internet years'; the bonds that now link your devotees, all over the world, mean a great deal to all of us. | |
| 154 | Bob Jaccino | Best wishes, Gary. Thanks for the countless musical gifts you've given us over the years. Be well and happy. | |
| 155 | Kate Prioli | Well, unlike most who have posted here to wish you well, I don't have anything creative to say. Just want to share my wishes for a very happy birthday, with many more to come. I'd be thrilled if you'd swing through Philly again during your next tour – I really enjoyed the show a year ago (possibly two years ago?) and it turned my sweetheart on to your music as well. First Procol song I ever heard was Piggy Pig Pig when I was twelve years old and I've been hooked ever since. Truly a wonderful band! So, happy 60th. Shine on brightly! Kate, 24 | |
| 156 | Mike Caporaso | Sir Gary, Happy
Birthday! Your musical talents have endured the years. Thank you for
escorting my life with countless hours of musical inspiration. I look
forward to your new musical contributions as well as listening to the songs that have sculptured my life. Best Regards from Tucson, Arizona: Mike. |
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| 157 | Danielle and Michelle St-Pierre | Dear Gary, Happy Birthday .... we are watching you tonight on DVD ... Concert for George and Jools Holland Party. Have a great day and please give us some more ... . Two of your many fans, Danielle and Michelle | |
| 158 | Dave Robinson | Happy Birthday to
one of the premier architects of the modern sound. I have followed you and
your mates, Procol Harum, since the beginning. You differentiated the
band's sound with one of the most immediately recognisable and defining vocals ... not to mention your dazzling work on the 88s. You were blessed with an outstanding, tasteful drummer, a wonderful B3 companion musician, and perhaps one of the strongest lyricists of our era. Procol Harum defined intelligent, dynamic, and often raucous Rock n' Roll. I first experienced the band live at the Atlantic City Music Festival in 1969, and have been fortunate to catch the band maybe ten times since and the essence of the band, you, have remained vibrant and in good cheer. I had the good fortune to catch the band twice in 2003 in Cambridge and Philly. C'mon, we need you back on the East Coast ASAP. I wish you and yours well on this momentous occasion. Shine on! |
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| 159 | Alan Semok | To our intrepid Commander ... add my best wishes on this milestone natal day to the long list from my fellow admirers ... perhaps I lack their eloquence, but certainly not the shared feeling of thanks for the special magic you have created which has so profoundly touched and inspired so many. May that creative fire within continue to burn ever so brightly, for many, many more years to come. Some vintage, special barleywine awaits you in New Jersey to celebrate your next visit stateside! (soon??). Be of good cheer and happy birthday, Alan in NJ. | |
| 160 | Pat Hickey | Gary, Shine on Brightly on this, your 60th birthday. From Conquistador and Whiter Shade of Pale in the early PH years, to Fires Burn Brightly and An Old English Dream, and your collaborative efforts for Tribute to George, you've made your mark in making rock music thrive! Enjoy 60 more years! Pat from North Carolina. | |
| 161 | Austin James | To a long and dear friend that I have yet to meet – Happy Birthday, Commander! | |
| 162 | Heidi Widmer | In 1974 I saw Procol Harum for the very first time at the Brighton Dome. Over the years it has been such a joy and inspiration to listen to your music. Thank you and happy 60th birthday, Gary! 'But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now' (Bob Dylan) ... ;-) All the very best and see you in Pratteln. | |
| 163 | Sam Behrend | Luckily when you asked Tommy if it was on, it was. And it still is today. And will be for a long time to come. Best of everything to you. | |
| 164 | Tim Comerford | Happy 60th Gary! Still there will be more! Thanx for all the GREAT music, please come back to Philly soon ... we miss ya! | |
| 165 | John Arter | I send my greetings to a music giant. Please keep up the great work and I look forward to many more concerts and subsequent CDs which are always brilliant. | |
| 166 | Kenneth Willis | Happy Birthday, Gary. You have brought me a lot happiness ever since that day when I rushed out to the record shop and came back clutching AWSoP in one hand (and Sgt Pepper in the other). May your birthday and your 61st year be full of happiness for you. | |
| 167 | Pamela Miller Chwedyk | Dear Gary, Happy Big Six-Oh, as we Yanks say, and many, many, many more! You are truly an international treasure. Thanks, merci, grazie, danke and gracias to you and Procol, the World's Greatest Rock Band, for all the joy you've given to so many of us over the years. May you rock on forever! Pam from Chicago (we met briefly at the 2003 concert in Catford; I was the one wearing the giant frog necklace). PS Geminis rule! | |
| 168 | Elizabeth Bryson | Hope you have a beautiful birthday, Gary with many more to follow. God bless you. With much love always, Elizabeth | |
| 169 | James Zielinski | Can it be 60!? Hello to the "House Band" from a regular at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan USA. | |
| 170 | David Morrison |
I just found out that my daughter and you share the same b-day, May
29th.I just want to say that the pipes sound as good at sixty as they
did some thirty years ago. You are still the best. Please get
around to touring in the US in the very near future with the lads. If
you do, I have a great concert hall worthy of Procol. It is called
The Scottish Rite Cathedral in Collingswood NJ. It is right across the
Bridge from Philadelphia. Many acts from your era have been playing this
venue. Hope to see you soon. Thanks for all the great music.
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| 171 | Pete Oakley |
Happy Birthday, Gary. Only 40 more until you reach a milestone!
Best wishes from Portland, Orrygun
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| 172 | Pat Keating |
Happy Birthday, Gary. Have a big slice of that cake!
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| 173 | Harry and Sandy Gembs | Happy Birthday to the best of the best. | |
| 174 | Phil and Janette Thomas | Happy birthday and best wishes from Worcester! | |
| 175 | Marty Brynildsen | Here's to you, Gary, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, and a fan since 1967. Thanks so much for teaching others, and keeping PH going all these years. Wonderful! | |
| 176 | Roberto Minighini | Dear Gary, do you remember that long,never ending applause at the end of A Salty Dog at the Piper Club in Rome, Italy, a long time ago...? Well it is here, right now and it is for you. | |
| 177 | Jochen Celler | Dear Gary! The best wishes from Germany for the best songwriter I know! | |
| 178 | Ed Major | Hope you have a wonderful 60th! Since Central Park, NYC in the summer of 1969 I have been a fan. I have always found your music to be of top-notch quality; enjoyable, mysterious, thought-provoking ... too many emotions to describe. Keep on contributing to the world of music for many healthful years to come. THANK YOU from Syosset, NY! | |
| 179 | Trudy Zimmerman |
Happy Birthday Gary, You are my very favorite musician and singer and I really love the recent DVDs for
Procol Harum. Keep making more and I love you very much.
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| 180 | Gary and Lorraine Celebre |
Dear Gary, Happy 60th birthday and certainly a most healthy one! ‘The only problem is’, can’t find a large enough gift to give you, as you have given us so many treasures and great memories over so many years! Thank you so much and I hope for many, many more. In good health and happiness to you and yours, a very happy birthday! Gary and Lorraine and family. |
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| 181 | Antonio Taormina |
Happy birthday, I started buying your record on February 1968 and still
I like your music and your voice.
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| 182 | Richard Amey |
Knowing confidentially that Procol Harum
harbour one of the great untold 'world-exclusive' stories of rock and roll
excess, you, Gary, must have been the sensible onlooker letting the others
get on with it! Your art and sustained good looks clearly took joint-first
place in your priorities - and aren't we and Franky all the better for
that?! The musical fruits of your abstinence have certainly kept me on the straight and narrow, so my multi-dimensional debt to you is pretty unfathomable by now. Why is that, every time I listen to A Salty Dog, even aside from the huge way it was punctuated by dear BJ, I feel I'm in the presence of greatness, power and simplicity? AABAB was good enough for Schubert and nothing he did does to me what this does. It always chokes me up - I'm still struggling to muster the composure when I sing it with Outcry and, so, could well soon lose that job! (Could you help us out? We're doing it on Saturday...). But a one-song wonder you're anything but. Hope year Number 60 fires you up for yet more. We rejoice with you, for you, and because of you. |
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| 183 | Donna Blue | The first half seems to have gone rather well, sir. I'll take another 60, please! Much love and gratitude, maestro, Donna | |
| 184 | Chris Graley | Great Group, Great Music, Great Fellow: Hearty Birthday Greetings and good health in the future. | |
| 185 | Garth Porter |
Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Dear Gary, Happy Birthday To You. Best wishes for the big event. Keep on rockin'. You blow my mind. You were a part of something that changed my life, and where I live, and what I do. Shine On Brightly forever! |
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| 186 | George Greer | Happy 60th. In Held 'Twas In I in an enhanced state led me out of The Matrix in 1970, and my friends and I am most grateful. Thanks for coming to Santa Fe in the '90s, and I hope you return. | |
| 187 | Boyd Wolford | Happy Birthday, Gary. No one has inspired me more than you. You're only a few years older than I am, but I remain a proud Procol completist, collecting as many items as I can muster. My faves are BG167 (part of the Fillmore / Bill Graham poster collection) and a fairly recent segment in a Japanese film biography where you credit Franky for your fishing success, with a wry smile. I look forward to more music, more concerts, all fun. Cheers! | |
| 188 | Kurt Harding | Happy Birthday, Gary. Thank you for the decades worth of great music and in advance for all the great music to come. Sto lat! | |
| 189 | Bernard de Gioanni | Hi Gary, everything has been said ... you're the best, at 60 and for ever! Keep going on and thanks for all from Caen! | |
| 190 | John Cammalleri | Congratulations on your 60th birthday! Thanks for the many years of wonderful music you have brought to the world. All the best wishes for many more years to come. | |
| 191 | Matt Giarrizzo | Happy 60th Birthday, Gary Brooker! Your voice and piano define excellence in the rock realm. Thank you for all the great music over the years. Love, Matt in Sunnyvale. | |
| 192 | Blair White | Writing from the US of A. Not a 60s person but much younger, and listen to your music a lot. Every band on earth continues to come over.... the good and bad! Your group was one of the best so hope you will do a tour of the cities later this year. Thanks! | |
| 193 | Comandante Leon | Dear Gary ... In the Summer of 1967 I first heard your voice ... and I read about your band in a music magazine ... Procol Harum ... a most original name ... since then I followed you as much as possible ... buying each one of your recordings ... your light shining brightly ever lasting through so many decades ... . I wish you a most beautiful Birthday Celebration ... I will be there in spirit as much as you have been a spiritual companion in so many of mine... growth days ... blue days ... sun days and moon days ... your sound has been even in my dream mass ... . I love you and your music ... Matthew and the whole band ... in special the latest additions ... excellent guitarist ... Procol lives and gets better and better if that could be possible ... Happy six hooooooe ... with respect ... from the Jungles of Southern Mexico ... exactly in the Montes Azules de Chiapas, not far from the Zapatista Rebels ... Your fan, Leon | |
| 194 | Ernie Singer |
Gary, 38 years ago, there was a loud thundrous boom. It was heard all over
the world. To the delight of all of us on this earth, Procol Harum was born.
A new wondrous sound was given to us from up above. It's been there ever
since. It's timeless, and will never die, will never grow old. I have been a
PH fan from day one, and have been lucky enough to see you in concert
several times over the years. I also got to have the great honor of meeting
you all , and talking to you. That is one thing that separates PH from so
many others. They care so much to take the time and say hello to their fans.
You don't realise just how great that makes us feel. I have passed the PH
sound on my children , who in turn have passed it to many others. This we do
because you guys are just so unbelievably cool. It was genius, to have a
five-piece band with both piano and Hammond organ together. And then on top
of it all to play such a great mix of classical/rock sounds.
I am asking one thing, if at all possible. When you make it back to the Pacific Northwest (Portland), could you please consider including a few more songs to your set list. In all the years , and as many times as I have seen PH over the years, I have never seen you play the entire In Held 'Twas in I, or Kaleidoscope. My ultimate PH dream , is to see you perform these songs: is this something that could happen? There are so many PH fans here who want this so much. Please think about it. Thanks again, for all the great things you have given me over all the years. Take care, and best wishes to you from all of us, whose lives have been enriched, from that very day, so long ago. A very special Happy Birthday to you Gary. We all hope you get as much pleasure from us as we do from you. |
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| 195 | Sue Klaus | Many happy returns, and have a wonderful birthday! I hope you tour near Chicago again, it would be wonderful to see you. The music still speaks to us, and will for a long long time – thank you! | |
| 196 | Geoff Welch | Your compositions and performances have only improved with time and enriched the decades for us. Your music is one of rock’s great treasures, as some of us lucky fans have known since 1967. Sincerely, Geoff in Montebello, New York | |
| 197 | Timothy Brennan | From the first moments of hearing AWSoP and, later, even more amazingly, A Salty Dog, I always knew your music would be a big part of my life. I only wish I could go back and again see many of the Procol Harum shows I attended. A time machine is all that is needed to revisit the 1974 performance at Hofstra University’s theater auditorium (in LI), the Academy of Music show (in NYC) in 1977 (10th anniversary), to the 20th anniversary Live in Edmonton II concert in 1991, the 1992 Town Hall concert (in NYC), the Lilies of the Field benefit concert in 1993, the 1997 30th anniversary reunion show in Surrey, England, and the Bottom Line in NYC (all three times) a few years ago in the 21st century. There are many others too, including the Westbury Music Fair and at the Huntington theater (both in LI), the Rhode Island show in the Round, at Cohasset, MA, in Philadelphia. Well, you get the idea. All the best to you, Gary. Happy 60th Birthday. And many, many more are wished to you, from me, my wife, our immediate and extended families. Thank you for all your exceptionally great music. | |
| 198 | Per Hedegaard Andersen | My deepest greetings to your birthday, a birthday, which has given me music for a lifetime. It is still young and alive. You did some of your best concerts in Vejle and Aarhus. Hope to see you again in Denmark and your five fans will be there. | |
| 199 | Sandra Hurst | Happy birthday, Gary. A Salty Dog remains one of my very favorite records, so lush and beautiful and touching. It's been in my head and heart now since I was a teenager in the sixties. So many of your songs are perfect and complete, lyrically and musically, and magnificent. They are permanently etched upon my nervous system, a deep part of who I am. Thank you and the whole of Procol Harum for your gifts to me and the world. And I can't resist telling you my favorites: A Whiter Shade of Pale, Too Much Between Us, A Souvenir of London, The Devil Came from Kansas, A Salty Dog. I'm deeply happy that you have a website that gives me the chance to thank you after all this time. | |
| 200 | Bruce Sinclair | I remember being a young teenager listening to an 'underground' Detroit radio station and hearing the entire Shine on Brightly. Damn, I was hooked! I went back and bought all your earlier work as I could find it. I have since followed your career with great interest and with the advent of the Internet can now easily find really great concert videos and now your most wonderful Union Chapel DVD. Please know that I was not the one who would scream 'rock'n'roll' during the quiet moments at either the Masonic Temple, Ford Theater, or any other venue you played in Detroit, but there he was at each and every concert (I was too young to make the Grande Ballroom but my brother was there. Crap). We always looked forward to this guy's request, trying to locate him so we could either kick his ass or gently explain to him that PH is different than R&R. Happiest of birthdays to you! Your friend from Detroit now landlocked in West Virginia (which is incidentally located just west of Virginia). | |
| 201 | Peter Korver | Even after almost forty years I can be thrilled by hearing A Salty Dog, the song as well as the album. Your music has given me so much. Many thanks and best wishes for you. | |
| 202 | Don West | Mr. Brooker, You have consistently been one of the greatest voices in music. Your musicianship has touched me and many others deeply. I hope this special day will bring you absolute joy. Happy Birthday from 'Procol Head'. | |
| 203 | Dennis Pausz | Happy 60th, Gary. You and Procol Harum are at the top of my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 'Keep on Rockin''. | |
| 204 | Stewart Kevill-Davies | Happy Birthday Gary, I'm not far behind you ! Thanks for the fantastic music over the years and more to come I'm sure. Would love to see you here in Australia one day: in the meantime have a great day with your family and friends. | |
| 205 | Michael Davenport | Happy Birthday, Gary! From the Number One Procol Harum Fan in Sacramento, California! Love The Well's on Fire! When is PH going to make a US west coast tour? | |
| 206 | Jon Kasene | Happy birthday, Gary. Always remember the joy that you have given to us all through your music. Best wishes | |
| 207 | Wolfgang Meyer | Dear Gary, I like to send you best wishes for your 60th birthday from Eastern Germany. It was an important part of my youth to listen to AWSoP. In the following years it was a little bit hard to get other songs besides the radio hits from your great band Procol Harum. But now, in older years, it's no problem to hear the songs of one of my favourite bands and your great voice, whenever I want. And I do want often ... Many thanks to you and your colleagues for all the wonderful music. Stay healthy. | |
| 208 | Rick Jones | Happy Birthday Gary! I introduced Procol Harum at a performance in April 1973 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, USA ... you guys put on a fantastic performance that night. At the time, I was the concert coordinator for the university, a job I held for two and half years while I was a student ... also was able to introduce Peter Frampton's Camel that night as they were your opening act. I spoke briefly with Keith Reid before the show when the promoter introduced me to him, but all you said to me, while sitting at the piano and getting ready to play, was "Now": and then I introduced the band and was stuck on the stage! That is right ... I went to exit but the guitarist to my left was already playing the opening notes of Conquistador and I had to wait a moment and then say to him, 'I need to get off the stage,' and then he graciously stepped back and made room for me to leave the stage ... I treasure that moment! Great band ... great performance! Congrats on turning 60 ... I am now 52 ... but still rocking! And I am coming to London in a few weeks ... on a high school sponsored trip with my daughter. I can't wait ...! | |
| 209 | EJ and Audrey Haas | Birthday Greetings Gary. Though we've never met, I've been a long time contributor to BtP and Bev will vouch for me and my little Audrey (nicknamed 'Odes' by any other name.) We live in Florida quite close to her but used to reside in the UK and return each early summer. Is that OK Bev ... name dropping? ... I hope so, 'cos I'm gonna do it at the end of this note as well :-). My Audrey loves your music, though she still doesn't quite know what to make of Homburg and why the tragic bloke is so upset that his trouser legs are dirty, his coat doesn't fit and his shoes are laced up wrong. She's from the velcroed trainer generation anyway. Oh, Todd and I spoke about you in London on the 5th after his show and your days as Richie's Boys on tour. Asked where and how you were. Feel free to 'look him up' as they say in the land of the Queen, 'cos we all feel the same way about ya. Best always. | |
| 210 | Bill Fox | Happy Birthday Gary! You were the reason I started playing Hammond organ many years ago. I must thank you for the DVDs: they move me to tears, your voice is just amazing. Please keep doing what you do, you're just a young fella at heart! With respect and many best wishes from Ontario, Canada | |
| 211 | Seth Share | Gary, I'm happy to have this opportunity to thank you for all the years of music which has meant so much to us, both as sheer enjoyment and as something to think about. All my best wishes for your birthday and beyond. | |
| 212 | Skip Messier | I just wanted to write to wish you the happiest of birthdays. You and Procol Harum have brought me many years of musical enjoyment. May you enjoy many, many more. Kindest regards, Skip. | |
| 213 | Bengt Holmström | Happy Birthday, Gary. I still remember Procol's first gig in Gothenburg (Göteborg) 1967. Shine on! | |
| 214 | Kurt Pedersen | Happy Birthday Gary, what is 60 when your music makes us ever young? Greetings from Denmark. | |
| 215 | Mike Masterton | Happy Birthday Gary. I was around in 1967: I still have an original copy of AWSoP, still love it. | |
| 216 | Wayne Franks | Congratulations on this, your sixtieth birthday! It's been a long, long time, but still I can't forget the explosion of joy that shot out from the grooves of the Shine on Brightly album my bassist had just acquired from a common friend (a nephew of jazz great Errol Garner). My bassist said as I entered his domain on that warm June day in 1970: "You ever hear of Procol Harum? You should like them; they have two keyboards, a piano and an organ." I had never heard anything of the like previously; a new use of guitar, with Robin's note-pulling and unique sound. Along with virtuoso drums, keyboards, words and vocals, Procol Harum inspired me, a classical pianist/composer, to pursue contemporary rock as avocation. Gary, your gift of music to the world is extraordinary; what it brings is priceless. Happy Number 60! | |
| 217 | Rick Langford | Happy Birthday! When are you going to do the States! I was in bands that always did your songs. We got back together after 25 years to do a charity thing, and we did ten of your songs that night. And what I. heard from people was, 'I wish those guys would come and play in the states'. Robin is big here in St Louis. Get as many guys you can and have a reunion tour: everyone else is. Yes did it, Deep Purple etc ... I can go on and on. The Moody Blues are big here. We are in an area that loves your music. Please come to the States! | |
| 218 | Jim Zemba | Happy birthday to one of the true original voices. Have listened to A Salty Dog thousands of times, and still get shivers from your vocals each time I listen. Sincerely, Jim. | |
| 219 | Leif Rosenquist | Happy Birthday, Gary. Best wishes from the north of Denmark, Frederikshavn. Wish you many years of health and happiness. Shine on brightly. | |
| 220 | Juliette Allais | A special toast for you on this very special birthday! Thanks for all this wonderful music and singing ! Hope to hear you in Paris very soon! A continental fan. | |
| 221 | Jeppe Sornum | Hello and congratulations: my first Procol Harum concert was in KB Hallen in Denmark in 1970 I think (I remember the very special and heavy atmosphere, cough). I was 12: now I'm 48. Since then I have attended many concerts. The latest was in Skien Ibsenhuset, was it 2003? Hope Procol Harum will continue to amaze and please us with many great concerts, records? in the years to come. Happy birthday Gary Brooker! Greetings from Norway. | |
| 222 | Phil Uttley | Thanks for all the good times you've given me and others over the years. Earliest memories are, of course, buying AWSoP and then the first album. Being mildly disappointed, for some reason, when AWSoP was missing from the list of tracks on the sleeve, then being blown away by Conquistador, Walpurgis and Cerdes and never being even mildly disappointed again with anything you've done. Seeing PH for the first time supporting Jethro Tull at Birmingham Town Hall and then many times more and, hopefully many times in the future. All the very best for the future. | |
| 223 | Gabriele Lunati | Tanti auguri! | |
| 224 | George Lovell | Dear Gary: may you shine on, brightly, this special birthday and sing in full regal voice for many more to come! Greetings from the land that inspired Conquistador! | |
| 225 | Pete Baumann |
Here's to the next sixty!
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| 226 | Alexandre Goubarev |
Happy Birthday Gary! I'm with you since 1968 (Moscow, Russia). You influenced my life. I was so happy to see/hear you in Bern (April 2005). Fantastic! Wishing you a great health and love! |
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| 227 | Andreas Havlik | Happy Birthday Gary and never stop to shine on. Thanks to you and the guys for the wonderful concert at Basel. | |
| 228 | Malène Lemoine | Joyeux anniversaire M'sieu Brooker ! Thanks for the magic of your songs. Music is the best (the rest is detail). | |
Gary Brooker's page at 'Beyond the Pale'
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