" 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. The song has been covered by a number of singers, most notably by Freddie Mercury , whose version reached No. 4 on the UK charts. Sam Cooke 's cover of the song is believed to have inspired Chrissie Hynde to name her band The Pretenders . - source