1984 Dolly Parton – The Great Pretender
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.
Tracks
1 Save The Last Dance For Me (Doc Pomus; Mort Shuman) 03:52
2 I Walk The Line (Johnny Cash) 03:35
3 Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season) (Pete Seeger) 04:25
4 Downtown (Tony Hatch) 03:21
5 We Had It All (Donnie Fritts; Troy Seals) 03:51
6 She Don’t Love You (Like I Love You) (Calvin Carter; Curtis Mayfield; Jerry Butler) 03:42
7 We’ll Sing In The Sunshine (Gale Garnett) 03:26
8 I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (Brian Holland; Lamont Dozier; Edward Holland) 02:51
9 Elusive Butterfly (Bob Lind) 02:47
10 The Great Pretender (Buck Ram) 03:42
Biography
Musicians
1 Save The Last Dance For Me
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Drums (programming) | Steve Goldstein |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Synthesizer | Steve Goldstein |
| Synthesizer | Jeffrey Colella |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Background Vocals | The Jordanaires |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
2 I Walk The Line
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Organ | Jeffrey Colella |
| Synthesizer | Steve Goldstein |
| Strings | Jeffrey Colella |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
3 Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season)
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar (solo) | Waddy Wachtel |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Electric Piano | Steve Goldstein |
| Synthesizer | Jeffrey Colella |
| Congas | Russ Kunkel |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
4 Downtown
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar (solo) | Waddy Wachtel |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Keyboards | Steve Goldstein |
| Horns | Bill Reichenbach |
| Horns | Chuck Findley |
| Horns | Don Menza |
| Horns | Gary Grant |
| Horns | Dick Hyde |
| Horns | Tom Scott |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
5 We Had It All
| Acoustic Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Piano | Steve Goldstein |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
6 She Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Slide Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Acoustic Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Electric Piano | Steve Goldstein |
| Strings (Synthesizer) | Jeffrey Colella |
| Congas | Brian Glascock |
| Background Vocals | Arnold McCuller |
| Background Vocals | Mary Ellen Quinn |
| Background Vocals | Rosemary Butler |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
7 We’ll Sing In The Sunshine
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Acoustic Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Keyboards | Steve Goldstein |
| Synthesizer | Jeffrey Colella |
| Harmonica | Lee Dresser |
| Congas | Brian Glascock |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
8 I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Electric Piano | Steve Goldstein |
| Synthesizer | Jeffrey Colella |
| Strings (Synthesizer) | Bill Cuomo |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Background Vocals | Luther Waters |
| Background Vocals | Oren Waters |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
9 Elusive Butterfly
| Bass | Leland Sklar |
| Drums | David Platshon |
| Guitar | Craig Hull |
| Guitar | Ron Elliott |
| Synthesizer | Jeffrey Colella |
| Synthesizer | Steve Goldstein |
| Percussion | Brian Glascock |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
10 The Great Pretender
| Organ | Steve Goldstein |
| Background Vocals | Julia Tillman Waters |
| Background Vocals | Maxine Willard Waters |
| Background Vocals | Oren Waters |
| Background Vocals | Luther Waters |
| Vocals | Dolly Parton |
Liner Notes
Producer – Val Garay
Arranged By – Steve Goldstein (Track 1)
Arranged By (Horns) – Steve Goldstein (Track 4)
Arranged By (Strings) – Steve Goldstein (Tracks 5, 8)
Conductor – Steve Goldstein (Tracks 4, 5)
Engineer – Val Garay, Niko Bolas
Engineer (Assistant) – Denny Densmore, Richard Bosworth
Engineer (Second Assistant) – Billy Miranda, Danny Mundhenk, David Leonard, Paul Goldberg, Scott Hendricks
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Art Direction, Design – Tim Bryant
Photography – Richard Avedon
Mastered At The Mastering Lab
Recorded At Record One, LA
Recorded At Right Track Recording
Recorded At Bullet Recording
Recorded At The Music Mill, Nashville, TN
Recorded At The Sound Factory
Phonographic Copyright RCA Records
Copyright RCA Records