''The Great Pretender'' is the twenty-sixth solo studio album by American entertainer

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. It was released on January 23, 1984, by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. It is composed of covers of hits from the 1950s and 1960s. The album was produced by

Val Garay Val Garay (born May 9, 1942, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American recording engineer and record producer who has worked with Kim Carnes, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and others. Garay also co-founded Los An ...

. It made heavy use of synthesizers and had a decidedly pop sound. The first single, a remake of

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

' 1960 hit "Save the Last Dance for Me" was a top 10 country single for Parton in early 1984 and came close to making the pop Top 40 as well (#45). Dolly Parton's cover of the 1965

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

hit "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

" was the album's second single. The title song was originally a hit for

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

in 1956. In 1986, a remixed version of the track "We Had It All" was included on ''

Think About Love ''Think About Love'' is a 1986 compilation of previously released Dolly Parton tracks, many of which were presented in remixes or alternate takes. RCA Records released the album after Parton had left the label. The project was helmed by Mark Wrig ...

'', a compilation album of remixes of previously released Parton material; the song was released as a single in late 1986, and provided an additional top 30 single for Parton. ''The Great Pretender'' was the first Dolly Parton album to be issued on the then-new CD format at the time of its release. It was released digitally for the first time on 4 December 2015.

Track listing

Chart performance

Album Album (Year-End)

Notes

External links

The Great Pretender at Dolly Parton On-Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Pretender, The Dolly Parton albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Val Garay RCA Records albums Covers albums