The Great Pretender (Dolly Parton album)

The Great Pretender
Studio album by Dolly Parton
Released	January 23, 1984
Recorded	October 24–December 5, 1983
Studio	Record One, Los Angeles
Genre	Pop
Length	35:44 (Re-Release) 52:42
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Val Garay
Dolly Parton chronology
Burlap & Satin (1983) The Great Pretender (1984) Rhinestone (1984)
Singles from The Great Pretender
"Save the Last Dance for Me" Released: November 28, 1983 "Downtown" Released: March 12, 1984 "She Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" Released: 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]

The Great Pretender is the twenty-sixth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 1984, by RCA Records. It is composed of covers of hits from the 1950s and 1960s. The album was produced by Val Garay. It made heavy use of synthesizers and had a decidedly pop sound. The first single, a remake of The Drifters' 1960 hit "Save the Last Dance for Me" was a top 10 country single for Parton in early 1984 and came close to making the pop Top 40 as well (#45). Dolly Parton's cover of the 1965 Petula Clark hit "Downtown" was the album's second single. The title song was originally a hit for The Platters in 1956.

In 1986, a remixed version of the track "We Had It All" was included on Think About Love, a compilation album of remixes of previously released Parton material; the song was released as a single in late 1986, and provided an additional top 30 single for Parton.

The Great Pretender was the first Dolly Parton album to be issued on the then-new CD format at the time of its release.

It was released digitally for the first time on 4 December 2015.