The Great Pretender
Encyclopedia
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters
, with Tony Williams
on lead vocals, and released as a single on November 3, 1955. The words and music were created by Buck Ram
, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The Great Pretender reached the number one position on both the R&B and pop charts in 1956
. In 2004, the song was voted 351st greatest song of all time
by Rolling Stone
.
by Freddie Mercury
, the lead singer of the rock band
Queen
. Mercury's version reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart
. His music video for the song became one of the most well-known of his career. It featured Mercury in many of his Queen guises through video medium over the years, including visual re-takes of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love
", "It's a Hard Life
" and "I Want to Break Free
" and was directed by David Mallett in February 1987. Mercury also shaved off his moustache, which had been his trademark feature since 1980. There was also an extended video version which appears on the videosingle on VHS, Freddie Mercury The Video Collection on VHS and DVD and Lover of Life, Singer of Songs on DVD. The song has been re-released on many compilations including Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
, and on Queen's Greatest Hits III album. In one of his last videotaped interviews in spring of 1987, Mercury explained that the song was particularly fitting for the way he saw his career and being on stage.
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
, with Tony Williams
Tony Williams (singer)
Tony Williams was the lead singer of the Platters from 1953 to 1960. Williams was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and died in New York of emphysema....
on lead vocals, and released as a single on November 3, 1955. The words and music were created by Buck Ram
Buck Ram
Buck Ram was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger.-Biography:...
, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The Great Pretender reached the number one position on both the R&B and pop charts in 1956
1956 in music
-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
. In 2004, the song was voted 351st greatest song of all time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
Freddie Mercury cover
The song was repopularized in 19871987 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
by Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, the lead singer of the rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
. Mercury's version reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. His music video for the song became one of the most well-known of his career. It featured Mercury in many of his Queen guises through video medium over the years, including visual re-takes of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track featured on their 1980 album The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation album, Greatest Hits...
", "It's a Hard Life
It's a Hard Life
"It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album The Works, and it was the third single from that album. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and was their third consecutive Top 10 single from the album...
" and "I Want to Break Free
I Want to Break Free
"I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, which was written by its bassist John Deacon. The song was featured on the Queen's 1984 album The Works and distributed as a single on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl records and 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. The song had three versions: album,...
" and was directed by David Mallett in February 1987. Mercury also shaved off his moustache, which had been his trademark feature since 1980. There was also an extended video version which appears on the videosingle on VHS, Freddie Mercury The Video Collection on VHS and DVD and Lover of Life, Singer of Songs on DVD. The song has been re-released on many compilations including Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
Lover of Life, Singer of Songs is a compilation album of Freddie Mercury's solo songs. It was released on September 4, 2006, the day before the 60th anniversary of Mercury's birth. It was released on November 21, 2006 in the U.S, three days before the 15th anniversary of Mercury's death...
, and on Queen's Greatest Hits III album. In one of his last videotaped interviews in spring of 1987, Mercury explained that the song was particularly fitting for the way he saw his career and being on stage.
Other cover versions
- There is a 1969 cover version by Gene PitneyGene PitneyEugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
; this version is clearly the model that Freddie Mercury used for his much later version, although demos of Mercury's 1987 song sound like the original Platters take. - It was covered in 1984 by Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, who made it the title song of an album of covers from the 1950s and 1960s (The Great PretenderThe Great Pretender (Dolly Parton album)-Chart performance:-External links:*...
) - There is also a cover by Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
and a soulful cover from Sam CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
. - Kathy Young and the Innocents covered the song in 1961.
- Stan FrebergStan FrebergStanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
made a parody version in 1956. - Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
covered it on his Moody River album in 19611961 in music-Events:*January 15 – Motown Records signs The Supremes.*January 20 – Francis Poulenc's Gloria receives its premiėre in Boston, USA.*February 12 – The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single....
. - Gene SummersGene SummersGene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer and entertainer. Some of his classic recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds"...
included it on his 1997 album The Ultimate School of Rock & RollThe Ultimate School of Rock & RollThe Ultimate School Of Rock & Roll is a 32-track CD by Gene Summers. It is a compilation of his biggest hits including out-takes and alternate tracks. The CD was released nationally in the United States by Crystal Clear Sound Records in 1997 and is still in print...
issued on Crystal Clear Sound Records. - The BandThe BandThe Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
covered it on Moondog MatineeMoondog MatineeMoondog Matinee is the sixth album by Canadian/American rock group The Band released in 1973. It consists entirely of cover material taken from the group's love of R&B and blues music with one exception in their interpretation of the theme from the film The Third Man.The idea had been to replicate...
, an album of covers. - Perhaps most radically, it was tackled by Lester BowieLester BowieLester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
in 1981 and extended to nearly seventeen minutes of improvisation on his album of the same nameThe Great Pretender (Lester Bowie album)The Great Pretender is the first album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM and released in 1981.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4 stars stating "The Great Pretender is a perfect title for this effort, a mix of funk and humor, gospel and jazz, with no small points...
. - It was covered in the UK by Jimmy Parkinson, an Australian vocalist. It entered the Top 20 on 3 March 1956, six months ahead of the Platters' version; Parkinson's hit peaked at No 9 and remained in the Top 20 for 10 weeks.
- Jackie Riggs, a US doowop singer also covered it in March 1956
- George FaithGeorge FaithEarl George Lawrence , also known as George Faith, Earl George, and George Earl, was a Jamaican reggae singer best known for his work in the 1970s with producers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Bunny Lee....
covered the song on his album Reggae Got Soul. - The Statler Brothers covered the song on their final live CD.
Popular culture
- In 1999, National Public Radio included the song in the "NPR 100," in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.
- The song inspired the naming of Chrissie HyndeChrissie HyndeChristine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
's band, Pretenders. - The song was used in a Volkswagen GolfVolkswagen GolfThe Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
advert in 2007, focusing on how a man has been so humbled by the understatement that is the Golf. - The song played an important part in Rainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
’s film The Bitter Tears of Petra von KantThe Bitter Tears of Petra von KantThe Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a 1972 German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. This film has an all female cast and is set in the home of the protagonist, Petra von Kant. It follows the changing dynamics in her relationships with the other women...
. - The song was featured in the 2003 film Evil.
- The song was also played in a scene in the film The Buddy Holly Story.
- In the 1973 film American GraffitiAmerican GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
, Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
' character sings along to the song while he stares into the window of an appliance store. - Perkin Warbeck (c.1474-1499), pretender to the throne of King Henry VII, was known as The Great Pretender.
External links
- http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596196/the_great_pretender (dead link as of 20110818)