Which one is your favorite? - XIV -

Here is a very popular song from the 50s. The original version was recorded by The Platters with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single on November 3, 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, The Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The song reached the top 5 in UK charts and became number 1 in US charts.

And here is the song for this week;

"The Great Pretender"

Buck Ram saids that he wrote the song in about 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in order to have a song to follow up the success of "Only You (And You Alone)". 

In 2004, the song was voted 360th greatest song of all time by the Rolling Stone magazine.

This song describes a man who deals with his heartbreak by denying it - he's mastered the art of smiling through the pain. 

The song was used in the movie Rock Around The Clock, and also appeared on the American Graffiti soundtrack along with two other songs by The Platters: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Only You."

Chrissie Hynde named her rock band "The Pretenders" after this Platters song.

And here are the 3 versions I chose for you;

• Freddie Mercury - "The Great Pretender"

• Roy Orbison - "The Great Pretender"

• Rod Stewart - "The Great Pretender"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers...