The Great Pretender | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 23, 1984 | |||
Recorded | October 24–December 5, 1983 | |||
Studio | Record One, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 35:44 (Re-Release) 52:42 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Producer | Val Garay | |||
Dolly Parton chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Great Pretender | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
The Great Pretender is the twenty-sixth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 1984, by RCA Records. It is composed of covers of hits from the 1950s and 1960s. The album was produced by Val Garay. It made heavy use of synthesizers and had a decidedly pop sound. The first single, a remake of The Drifters' 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 hit "Downtown" was the album's second single. The title song was originally a hit for The Platters in 1956.
In 1986, a remixed version of the track "We Had It All" was included on Think About Love , 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.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Save the Last Dance for Me" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 3:50 |
2. | "I Walk the Line" | Johnny Cash | 3:34 |
3. | "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" | Pete Seeger | 4:24 |
4. | "Downtown" | Tony Hatch | 3:19 |
5. | "We Had it All" | Donnie Fritts, Troy Seals | 3:51 |
6. | "She Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" | Jerry Butler, Calvin Carter, Curtis Mayfield | 3:41 |
7. | "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" | Gale Garnett | 3:25 |
8. | "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" | Holland–Dozier–Holland | 2:50 |
9. | "Elusive Butterfly" | Bob Lind | 2:47 |
10. | "The Great Pretender" | Buck Ram | 3:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Harper Valley PTA" | Tom T. Hall | 3:13 |
12. | "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" | Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman | 2:44 |
13. | "I Will Always Love You" | Dolly Parton | 2:55 |
14. | "Jolene" | Dolly Parton | 2:41 |
15. | "9 to 5" | Dolly Parton | 2:45 |
16. | "Here You Come Again" | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | 2:57 |
Album
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [3] | 22 |
Canada Top Albums ( RPM ) [4] | 69 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [5] | 38 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [6] | 18 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7] | 9 |
US Hot Country Albums ( Billboard ) [8] | 7 |
US Billboard 200 [9] | 73 |
Album (Year-End)
Chart (1984) | Peak Position |
---|---|
US Top Country Albums ( Billboard ) [10] | 49 |
Listen Like Thieves is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 14 October 1985. It spent two weeks at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Considered an international breakthrough album for the band, it peaked at No. 11 on the United States Billboard 200, No. 24 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and in the top 50 in the United Kingdom.
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 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 No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100, and No. 5 on the UK charts.
"Islands in the Stream" is a song written by the Bee Gees and recorded by American country music artists Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. It was released in August 1983 as the first single from Rogers's fifteenth studio album Eyes That See in the Dark. The Bee Gees released a live version in 1998 and a studio version in 2001.
Trio is a collaborative album by American singers Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. It was released on March 2, 1987, by Warner Bros. Records. The album has platinum certification in the U.S. for sales of one million copies, and has total worldwide sales of approximately four million. A second collaborative album, Trio II, was released in 1999.
Heartbreaker is the twentieth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on July 17, 1978, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Gary Klein and Parton with Charles Koppelman serving as executive producer, and was an even more direct aim at the pop charts, with several of its songs verging on disco. The album topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for nine consecutive weeks and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Heartbreaker" and "I Really Got the Feeling", while "Baby I'm Burnin'" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has been certified Gold in the United States and Canada.
Great Balls of Fire is the twenty-first solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on May 28, 1979, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Dean Parks and Gregg Perry with Parton and Charles Koppelman serving as executive producers. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 40 on the Billboard 200. Two of the album's four singles charted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "You're the Only One" topped the chart, while "Sweet Summer Lovin'" peaked at number seven. The album has been certified Gold in the United States.
Once Upon a Christmas is a collaborative studio album by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. It was released on October 29, 1984, by RCA Records. The album was produced by Rogers with David Foster. It was Rogers' second Christmas album, following 1981's Christmas, and Parton's first. The album's release was accompanied by a CBS television special, Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember. The album was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA in 1989.
"Save the Last Dance for Me" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group the Drifters with Ben E. King on lead vocals. It has since been covered by several artists, including Dalida, the DeFranco Family, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Michael Bublé.
"Here You Come Again" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released as a single in September 1977 as the title track from Parton's album of the same name, topped the U.S. country singles chart for five weeks, and won the 1978 Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance; it also reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, representing Parton's first significant pop crossover hit.
Eyes That See in the Dark is the fifteenth studio album by American country singer Kenny Rogers, released by RCA Records in August 1983.
"We'll Sing in the Sunshine" is a 1964 hit song written and recorded by Gale Garnett which reached No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending 17 October 1964. It also enjoyed success on easy listening and country music radio stations, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and No. 42 on the country chart. The Cash Box Top 100 ranked "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" at No. 1 for the week of 31 October 1964, and it also reached No. 1 in Garnett's native New Zealand that November. In Australia, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" afforded Garnett a Top Ten hit with a No. 10 peak in October 1964. Garnett's sole Top 40 hit, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1965.
"The Story" is a song released as a single by American folk rock singer Brandi Carlile, written by Phil Hanseroth, from her 2007 album The Story. It is one of Carlile's best-known songs and has been included in the setlist of all of her concert tours to date.
"Think About Love" is a song recorded by American country music artist Dolly Parton, first released on her 1985 Real Love album. The song, written by Richard "Spady" Brannan and Tom Campbell, was an uptempo pop tune, employing synthesizers and other distinctive pop flourishes. It was released as the album's third single in November 1985 and, despite its polished pop production, reached No. 1 on the U.S. country singles charts in March 1986; the single spent a total of fourteen weeks on the chart. The song was Parton's sixteenth number one country single as a solo artist and twentieth overall.
Dennis Princewell Stehr, known professionally as Mr. Probz, is a Dutch record producer, singer and singer-songwriter.
"We Had It All" is a song written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts and originally recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1973 album, Honky Tonk Heroes. It has since been covered by many artists, including Rita Coolidge, Dobie Gray, Susan Jacks, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Conway Twitty, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Green On Red, and Dottie West.
The singles discography of American country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton includes over 200 singles and touches on eight decades. Parton has released 198 singles as a lead artist, 49 as a featured artist, six promotional single and 68 music videos. Parton also released 21 singles with Porter Wagoner from 1968 to 1980, bringing her total number of singles to 243.
Blue Smoke is the forty-fourth solo studio album by American country entertainer Dolly Parton. The album was released in Australia and New Zealand on January 31, 2014, in North America on May 13, 2014, in Ireland on June 6, 2014, and in Europe on June 9, 2014.
Pure & Simple is the forty-fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released worldwide on August 19, 2016 by Dolly Records and RCA Nashville. "Pure & Simple" is Dolly Parton's seventh #1 country album. It is her first #1 country album in 25 years.
The Complete Trio Collection is compilation album by American singer-songwriters Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. It brings together newly remastered versions of their two award-winning albums, 1987's Trio and 1999's Trio II, with a third disc compiling 20 alternate takes and unreleased material. It was released worldwide on September 9, 2016, by Rhino Entertainment. A stand-alone version of the third disc, titled Farther Along, was released separately on vinyl.
A Holly Dolly Christmas is the forty-seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Parton's Butterfly Records in partnership with 12-Tone Music Group. The album was produced by Kent Wells, with Parton serving as executive producer. It is Parton's third Christmas album, following 1984's Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers and 1990's Home for Christmas. The album features guest appearances by Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, and Parton's brother Randy. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, becoming Parton's eighth album to top the chart. The album also peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart and number 16 on the Billboard 200. The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.