Keith Reid

Keith Stuart Brian Reid (19 October 1946 – 23 March 2023) was an English lyricist and songwriter.

He was best known for writing the lyric of every original song released by Procol Harum, with the exception of the songs on their 2017 album, Novum. He co-founded the band with Gary Brooker. Reid was a non-performing member; he did not play any instrument or record with Procol Harum. After the band's break-up in 1977, he continued to write songs. Most notably, he co-wrote "You're the Voice", a UK top-10 hit for Australian singer John Farnham.

Reid was born on 19 October 1946. He grew up in London and was Jewish, the son of a Holocaust survivor. 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), in 1966. They began collaborating, and their song "A Whiter Shade of Pale", Procol Harum's first single, was released in 1967. It reached the top of the UK Singles Chart 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 reunited with Brooker and Procol Harum for the albums The Prodigal Stranger (1991) and The Well's on Fire (2003).

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.