The Great Pretender Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kathy Young and the Innocents

Kathy Young (born 1945) started her recording career aged only 15 in 1961. Her version of "The Great Pretender" did not reach the top forty. After a three year marriage to the founder of The Walker Brothers, she retired from the music business upon her second marriage in 1969, to concentrate on her family.

Kathy returned to Los Angeles in 1994 and also returned to the music industry, performing mostly in rock shows.

Answer: Lester Bowie

The recording by Lester Bowie (1941 to 1999) was just over sixteen minutes long (16:22) and was the first track on his album of the same name. His improvisation around the theme is all in his own style and a new take on the original. Beautiful in its own way and so different to the rest.

Answer: Freddie Mercury

Who can forget Freddie Mercury (1946 to 1991) in his pale pink shiny suit gradually making his way down the magnificent staircase to join ranks of cardboard cut-outs of himself?

Freddie Mercury continued to record with Queen until shortly before his death, with occasional recordings alone.

Answer: The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley (born 1940) and Bobby Hatfield (1940 to 2003) chose the name, The Righteous Brothers, after a compliment from an audience member during a performance with The Paramours. They performed together as The Righteous Brothers from 1962 to 2003, but with two gaps at the beginning and end of the 1970s.

Answer: Pat Boone

In the later part of the 1950s, Pat Boone (born 1934) was second only to Elvis Presley in terms of chart success, according to Billboard.

Surprisingly, Elvis Presley did not record a version of "The Great Pretender".

Graeme Edge and Justin Hayward are member of the British band, The Moody Blues.

Answer: Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton (born in 1946) sang the song a little slower than most other versions and it had a definite country music feel to it.

"Save The Last Dance For Me" and "Downtown" were the two singles that she released from the album, both in 1984.

Taylor Swift was not born until 1989, five years after the album was released.

Answer: Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke (1931 to 1964) was known as the "King of Soul" due to his distinctive voice and pioneering sound. Many soul singers cite him as their greatest influence.

Otis Redding was only 26 when he died in 1967.

Answer: Roy Orbison

All four gentlemen released albums in 1962, but Roy Orbison's had the title, "Crying" named for his 1961 hit single.

Roy Orbison (1936 to 1988), known as "The Big O", had a career that lasted for over thirty years. He started out alongside Elvis Presley at Sun Records and ended his career as part of the Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup started by George Harrison and Bob Dylan.

Answer: Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney (1940 to 2006) was actually six years from Tulsa, as he had that hit in 1963. It has been suggested by several experts that it was Gene Pitney's version that most influenced the record by Freddie Mercury.

In a career that lasted for more than forty years he had many hits. In 1964 Gene Pitney had the distinction of being the first to take a song written by the Rolling Stones into the top ten of British music charts. It was "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday".

Answer: The Platters

"The Great Pretender" was written by Buck Ram (1907 to 1991) and it only took him twenty minutes. After The Platters first record "Only You", which he had also written and produced, was a hit, he was asked what their next record would be. Twenty minutes later he had the answer!

The Platters were a very successful group and there have been several incarnations. In the 1990s there were four different groups, using variations on the name, touring.