A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

In 2018, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame introduced a new award category dedicated to single recordings that helped shape the course of rock music.

Included in the six original inductees is a song that blew me away the first time I heard it....

From Wikipedia:

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut single by the British rock band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Structurally and thematically, the song is unusual in many respects. While the recorded version is 4:03 long, it is composed of only two verses, each with chorus. The piece is also more instrument-driven than most songs of the period, and with a much looser rhyme scheme. Its unusually allusive and referential lyrics are much more complex than most lyrics of the time (for example, the chorus focuses on Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale". Thus, this piece can be considered an early example of progressive rock.