The Great Pretender

"The Great Pretender"
Single by The Platters
from the album Encore of Golden Hits
B-side"I'm Just a Dancing Partner"
ReleasedNovember 3, 1955
Recorded1955
GenreRhythm and blues, doo-wop
Length2:36
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)Buck Ram
Producer(s)Buck Ram
The Platters singles chronology
"Only You (And You Alone)"
(1955)
"The Great Pretender"
(1955)
"I Need You All the Time"
(1955)

"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram,[1] the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100, and No. 5 on the UK charts.

The song has been covered by a number of singers, most notably by Freddie Mercury, whose version reached No. 4 on the UK charts. Sam Cooke's cover of the song is believed to have inspired Chrissie Hynde to name her band the Pretenders.[2]

  1. ^ Buck Ram interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  2. ^ Sobsey, Adam (2017). Chrissie Hynde: A Musical Biography. University of Texas Press. p. 10. ISBN 9781477310397.