Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

who wrote the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the exception of the songs on their 2017 album ''

Novum Novum (Latin for ''new thing'') is a term used by science fiction scholar Darko Suvin and others to describe the scientifically plausible innovations used by science fiction narratives. Origin Suvin learned the term from Ernst Bloch, whose wor ...

''.

Biography

Reid grew up in London and is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, the son of a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. He left school at an early age to pursue a songwriting career. He met Gary Brooker, lead singer with Procol Harum, with whom he co-wrote most of the band's songs (some music was written by organist Matthew Fisher and by guitarist

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

), in 1966. They began collaborating, and their composition " A Whiter Shade of Pale", Procol Harum's first single, was released in 1967. It reached the top of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and sold over six million copies worldwide. Keith Reid was an official member of Procol Harum and attended all their recording sessions and most of their concert performances, despite having no performance role in the band. Reid continued to write lyrics for the band until they disbanded in 1977. Reid has said that the dark tone of his lyric writing derives from his familial experience of the Holocaust. He also wrote the lyrics for two songs by the French singer

Michel Polnareff Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944, Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a French singer-songwriter, who was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s with his penultimate original album, ''Kāma-Sūtra''. He is still criticall ...

in 1966 ("You'll Be On My Mind" and "Time Will Tell"), and was co-writer for the

John Farnham John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

hit "

You're the Voice "You're the Voice" is a song written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album '' Whispering Jack''. "You're t ...

" (1986). Reid moved to New York and founded a management company in 1986. He reunited with Brooker and Procol Harum for the albums ''

The Prodigal Stranger ''The Prodigal Stranger'' is the tenth studio album by Procol Harum, released in 1991. Recorded after a 14-year break, it met with an underwhelming response from listeners but served to kick off a largely successful reunion for the band. Backgr ...

'' (1991) and '' The Well's on Fire'' (2003). In August 2008, a new album, ''The Common Thread'', was issued under The Keith Reid Project banner. Reid wrote the lyrics for the songs, which were performed by a variety of musicians, including

Southside Johnny John Lyon (born December 4, 1948), better known by his stage name Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of ...

, Chris Thompson, John Waite and Michael Saxell. The album was produced by Keith Reid and Matt Noble. A new album from the Keith Reid Project, ''In My Head'', was released in December 2018.

References

External links

Procol Harum.com biography of Keith Reid
*Seth Rogovoy
The Secret Jewish History Of Procol Harum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Keith 1946 births Living people People from Welwyn Garden City Procol Harum members English lyricists English Jews English songwriters Musicians from Hertfordshire Jewish British musicians