The Platters. Photo Credits: nme.com

Song Facts

Released as a single on November 3, 1955, “The Great Pretender” is a song originally recorded by American vocal group The Platters. Tony Williams sang the lead vocals while American songwriter Buck Ram penned the lyrics and music. Ram was actually the manager and producer of the group who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management.

“The Great Pretender” was a chart-topper. It placed no. 1 on the Billboard charts while no.5 on the UK charts in 1956. In addition, Rolling Stone ranked the song 360th greatest song of all time in their 2004 article, 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In an interview with Buck Ram, he revealed that he finished writing the song in about 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel. He further said that he wrote the song in order to continue and follow up the success of “Only You (And You Alone)” which was a no. 1 song in 1955.

About the Song

The first part of the song goes:

Oh yes, I’m the great pretender
Pretending I’m doing well
My need is such
I pretend too much
I’m lonely but no one can tell
Oh yes, I’m the great pretender
Adrift in a world of my own
I play the game but to my real shame
You’ve left me to dream all alone
Too real is this feeling of make-believe
Too real when I feel what my heart can’t conceal

“The Great Pretender” talks about a man who is heartbroken but tries to deny it and pretends to be okay. The manager of The Platters, Buck Ram, wrote the song in the washroom with the group. Often, the group practiced in washrooms because of the acoustics.

The song was considered to be the first Doo-Wop song to reach the no. 1 spot in the U.S. charts. Doo-Wop refers to the genre of rhythm and blues music that emerged in African-American communities specifically in the East Coast of the United States in the 1940’s.

At that time, the music was not known as Doo-Wop. Rather, it was categorized as Rock or R&B. In the early 70’s, Stan Krause, a record collector introduced the term Doo-Wop. Gus Gossert, a DJ on WCBS in New York City, began using Doo-Wop in his shows to describe this type of music. Krause helped produce Gossert’s shows and gave him song information to use on the air.

Fun Fact

One of the lines of the song says:

“Oh yes, I’m the great pretender/Just laughing and gay like a clown.”

This line uses the word “gay” to denote its original meaning which is happy and carefree. The use of the word signifies that this song is an oldie which roots back in the 1950’s.

Watch The Platters perform their 1955 hit, “The Great Pretender” below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyM8NVl4yBY

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