"Conquistador" is a song by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...
. Written by
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
and
Keith Reid
Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...
, it originally appeared on the band's 1967
self-titled debut album. It was later released as a
single from the band's 1972 live album ''
Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra''. It is one of the band's most famous and popular songs and their third Top 40 hit on the U.S. ''
Billboard''
Hot 100 (after 1967's "
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...
" and "
Homburg"), peaking at number 16.
Background and composition
The song's lyrics were written by
Keith Reid
Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...
, and its music was composed by
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
, who also sang. It was featured on the band's 1967 album, ''
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...
''. The song is unusual in that the music was written before the lyrics; according to Reid, "99 out of 100 of those Procol Harum songs were written the words first, and then were set to music." He explained that Brooker had written a piece of Spanish-flavored music before the band had officially formed, and Reid decided to write lyrics about a
conquistador.
In August 1971, Procol Harum was invited to perform with the
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to cou ...
in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. Procol Harum's equipment was hung up at the border; as a result the band and the orchestra only rehearsed "Conquistador" once ("All songs now played at least once.") before the show. Nonetheless, they began the concert with the song, and the concert was captured on the album ''
Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra'', of which "Conquistador" was the lead single.
Lyrics
The narrator of "Conquistador" addresses the body of a dead ''
conquistador'' lying on a beach, no doubt partially embedded in the sand and obviously not long after death or the corpse would not attract a vulture, nor would the "stallion" still be nearby. He at first jeers at the irony of the failure of the Conquistador's imagined mission, and the desolation of the scene and his corpse, but on reflection regrets his mockery and offers pity for the lonely and futile fate of the ''conquistador'', "You did not conquer, only die." The refrain consists of the morose couplet:
with which the selection closes just before its instrumental trumpet
coda, which gives it a
mariachi-esque but mournful sound. The trumpet solo is played by principal trumpet Ed Nixon.
Release and reception
Besides "
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...
", "Conquistador" was the band's highest charting single. It peaked at #16 on the ''
Billboard''
Hot 100 on 29 July 1972, exactly five years to the date after "A Whiter Shade of Pale" ascended to its #5 peak, and helped catapult the album into the top five.
[ "Conquistador" peaked at #22 on 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 ...
.[Roberts 2006, p. 440] The song was generally well received by music critics. '' Cash Box'' said it was "at long last, the equal of their 'Whiter Shade Of Pale.'" Bruce Eder of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
praised it as "the most accessible song" on ''Procol Harum Live In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra'', adding that "nothing else n the albummatches it for sheer, bracing excitement."[ It was listed on Dave Thompson's ''1000 Songs that Rock Your World''.][Thompson 2011, p. 138.]
Personnel
1967 version
* Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
piano, vocals
* 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 ...
guitar
* Matthew Fisherorgan
* Dave Knightsbass guitar
* B.J. Wilsondrums
* Keith Reid
Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...
lyrics
1972 version
* Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
piano and vocals
* Dave Ballguitar
* Chris Copping
Chris Copping (born 29 August 1945 in Middleton, Lancashire, England) is a musician and singer-songwriter who was a member of Procol Harum in the 1970s, and has also composed for TV and film. He predominantly plays organ, piano and bass guitar. C ...
organ
* Alan Cartwright
Alan George Cartwright (10 October 1945 – 4 March 2021) was an English bass player.
He was born in London. Before joining Procol Harum in 1972 he played with the Freddie Mack Show together with fellow Harum band member B.J. Wilson and ...
bass guitar
* B.J. Wilsondrums
* Keith Reid
Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...
lyrics
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*
{{authority control
Songs with lyrics by Keith Reid
1967 songs
1972 singles
Procol Harum songs
Songs written by Gary Brooker
Live singles
Chrysalis Records singles
Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)