Keith Reid

For the South African cricketer, see Keith Reid (cricketer).

Keith Reid
Birth name	Keith Stuart Brian Reid
Born	(1946-10-19) 19 October 1946
Origin	Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Genres	Psychedelic rock, progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Lyricist, songwriter
Years active	1967–present
Associated acts	Procol Harum

Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England) is a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every Procol Harum song that is not instrumental or a cover.

Reid was born and educated in London. He left school at an early age to pursue a song writing career. He met Gary Brooker, 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 soon 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 and sold over six million copies worldwide. Reid continued to write lyrics for the band until they disbanded in 1977.

He also wrote the lyrics to the debut album of the French singer Michel Polnareff in 1966, and was co-writer for the John Farnham hit "You're the Voice" (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, released in 1991 and "The Wells 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, Chris Thompson, John Waite and Michael Saxell.

External links

• Procol Harum.com biography of Keith Reid
• Procol Harum words by Keith Reid