• Tue. Aug 11th, 2026
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    The Platters perform “The Great Pretender” in electrifying live performance

    1 minute, 28 seconds Read

    The Platters were formed in 1952. The vocal group was one of the top-selling singing groups of the early rock ‘n’ roll era. In this video, they perform one of their most famous songs, ‘The Great Pretender.’


    The Platters

    The Platters had number one hits on the Billboard charts for twelve years. The group’s first number one hit was “The Great Pretender,” written in a hotel bathroom by the band’s manager, Buck Ram.

    In this video, The Platters sing “The Great Pretender” live in 1955. Tony Williams leads the vocals, and he is often praised for his very high tenor tone. He can really shine in this performance.


    The Platters

    The song is all about the masks we all wear every day. We wear them to show a happy, put-together face to the world. However, we are sad, confused, and scared behind the masks.

    The song begins, “I’m the great pretender / Pretending that I’m doing well / My need is such I pretend too much / I’m lonely, but no one can tell.” Ram’s lyrics speak to a universal experience of keeping our guard up due to a fear of letting anyone see the real us.


    The Platters

    Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen famously covered “The Great Pretender” in 1987. In Mercury’s music video, he parodied many versions of himself in all of his costumes and stage personas. He shaved off his signature mustache in an attempt to show a less-guarded version of himself to viewers.

    This original footage of The Platter’s first number one hit is an excellent view of 1950s American music. The song lyrics remain relevant in today’s world, and hearing Tony Williams croon the words make it easier to relate.

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    My MIL has always had a flair for ruining milestones so when she “accidentally” knocked over our gender reveal cake, the real shock wasn’t the mess — it was the smirk she tried to hide. But my SIL wiped the smile off her face with a reversal she never saw coming! When I say my mother-in-law has a talent for ruining milestones, I’m not being dramatic. It’s a family legend that has haunted every significant moment of our relationship. Let me paint you a picture of her greatest hits of destruction. Our wedding day stands out as a prime example. While most mothers-in-law might worry about matching the dress code, she showed up in a cream dress so close to white that my wedding planner nearly had a heart attack. “It’s not white,” she claimed with that innocent look she’d perfected over decades. “It’s just… cream.” The photographs tell a different story. Her dress is so white in the photos we took in the sunny church courtyard that it’s almost blinding to look at. I’ll never forget the sick feeling in my belly when I looked through those photos for the first time and realized she’d ruined every single one she was in. Then came the pregnancy announcement. We had carefully planned a special moment to share our news. Daniel and I had picked out beautiful cards and chosen a quaint restaurant for an intimate family dinner. But Patricia beat us to the punch. On the day of the dinner, I got a Facebook notification. She’d posted OUR pregnancy announcement and tagged the whole family in it. I was devastated. Not only had she flushed all our careful planning down the toilet, but she’d also robbed us of the moment in which we all would’ve celebrated the news together. “I was just so excited,” she would say later, her version of an apology never quite reaching the level of actual remorse. And the baby names? Oh, that was another spectacular display of boundary crossing. Daniel and I had been discussing baby names since the day we found out I was pregnant. After months of deliberation, we had narrowed it down to two names: Ezra for a boy, and Quinn for a girl. We wanted to keep the names private until after the gender reveal, a little piece of magic just for us. But Patricia shared them with her entire bridge group faster than you could say “oversharing.” Let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like running into one of your MIL’s friends at the grocery store and getting a disappointed lecture about your “eccentric” baby name choices. When I confronted Patricia, she laughed it off. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you wanted to keep it secret and everyone was asking!” she said. “And don’t mind Margaret. She meant well. Your name choices are a little unusual.” So when we decided to have a gender reveal party, I was beyond cautious. I had a checklist of every detail I’d need to control to make it Patricia-proof. It had to be small, too, so I could do all the planning and much of the work myself. I sighed as I lay in bed one night, thinking about everything that could go wrong. “It would be easier to just not invite her,” I remarked to Daniel. “She means well,” Daniel said, his hand finding mine, our fingers intertwining. “Let’s give her a chance. She won’t ruin something as sweet and simple as a cake-cutting.” My husband. Always the optimist. Always believing the best in people, even when those people have a documented history of spectacular, breathtaking sabotage. The backyard that afternoon was a masterpiece of carefully curated celebration. Soft June sunlight filtered through the maple trees, casting dappled shadows on the perfectly arranged table. Pink and blue treats lined the edges. I had macarons with delicate color gradients, cupcakes topped with tiny gender-neutral question mark picks, and sparkling beverages in coordinating colors. And in the center: the cake. A towering white confection that seemed to hold all of our hopes and anticipation. Jenny, my sister-in-law, had delivered it herself. It was decorated with white frosting and tiny sugar question marks dancing around its surface, and a playful cake topper that asked “Boy or Girl?” It was, in a word, perfect. For one brief, beautiful moment, I actually believed we might get through this milestone without drama. Then Patricia arrived. She swept in 20 minutes late, wearing a pink blouse (real subtle, right?). She air-kissed me with that performative affection she’d perfected over the years and then zeroed in on the cake like a heat-seeking missile of potential destruction. “It’s so tall,” she said, her voice dripping with mock concern. “Are you sure it’s stable?” Jenny, bless her, didn’t miss a beat. “It’s fine, Mom. I just drove it over myself.” I felt that familiar tension creeping into my shoulders as I watched her circling the cake like a shark, scrutinizing every inch as though she might find a spot where the color was peeping through beneath the icing. I couldn’t bear it. I knew I had to cut that cake before she could find a way to ruin the moment. “Well, let’s get to the main event,” I announced, putting a hand on Patricia’s arm and guiding her a safe distance away. “Everyone, gather round!” Everyone gathered around, phones ready to record the special moment we’d been waiting for. Daniel and I moved into position, knife at the ready. We posed so Jenny could take some photos, and that’s when Patricia struck. “Oh no, let me just move the cake closer to you,” she said. I watched in horror as she gripped the base of the cake. With one flick of her wrist, the cake tipped. Frosting and pink layers splattered across the perfectly manicured grass like some horrific pastry crime scene. The yard went silent. I stood frozen, blinking back tears. This was supposed to be our moment. One simple, perfect memory untouched by her constant need to be the center of attention. Patricia stood with her hands over her mouth, barely covering her satisfied smirk. Then Jenny started laughing. Not a nervous laugh or a forced chuckle, but a full, genuine laugh of pure delight. I stared at her as the tears flowed freely down my face. Had Jenny been in on this? (continue reading in the 1st comment)

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