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1956:
"The Great Pretender" by The Platters
"I don't care if it's a Chinese song, I want you to try it." -- Buck Ram (Platters manager)

"The Great Pretender" was the first Platters' song to reach #1. Buck Ram, The Platters' manager, claimed to have promoted the song as the group's second release for Mercury, even though all he had was the title. He worked out the arrangement in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas between Platters' performances. At first, Tony Williams, the lead vocalist for the group didn't like it because he thought it was a "hillbilly" record. But Ram persisted and Mercury released it in November of 1955. It quickly climbed the charts and was the #1 R&B record in January of 1956. It crossed over to the pop chart and eventually made it to #1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart on February 15th. The song was featured in Alan Freed's movie, "Rock Around the Clock" and was ranked #12 on Billboard's 1956 chart.
LYRICS:

Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Pretending I'm doing well (ooh ooh)
My need is such I pretend too much
I'm lonely but no one can tell

Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Adrift in a world of my own (ooh ooh)
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

Ooh ooh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not (you see)
I'm wearing my heart like a crown
Pretending that you're still around

Yeah ooh hoo
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal

Oh yes I'm the great pretender
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not you see
I'm wearing my heart like a crown
Pretending that you're
Pretending that you're still around

 
week debuted highest ranking Date Highest Rank Weeks in Top Twenty Weeks in Top Forty BillBoard Rank Cashbox Ranking GT rank
1955 12 24 1 1956 2 18 18 19 12 2
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