Gary Troxel (b. November 28, 1939, Centralia, Washington) and Gretchen Christopher (b. February 29, 1940, Olympia, Washington) were two high school students waiting for Christopher's mother to pick them up after school. They started singing and humming a song together, and liked it enough to ask Christopher's friend and singing partner, Barbara Ellis (b. February 20, 1940, Olympia, Washington), to join them as a trio to perform it.
They performed the song twice at school functions, and their classmates wanted recordings of it so they could learn the song. After six months, they got the track recorded. They sang it a cappella, then dubbed the instrumental accompaniment, consisting only of Latin-styled acoustic guitar and the rhythmic shaking of Troxel's car keys. "Come Softly to Me" was also recorded by Frankie Vaughan and The Kaye Sisters, who had a chart hit in the United Kingdom with the song. The Fleetwoods' version of "Come Softly To Me" can be heard on a portable radio at one point in the 1986 movie, Stand By Me, which was set in Washington state.
Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records (later changed to Dolton Records), was responsible for the changes to the group name and song title. He thought that the title was too risque and not commercial-sounding enough, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me". He also thought that the group's original name wasn't commercial-sounding enough. The new name of the group, The Fleetwoods, was based on the telephone exchanges in the areas where the three members lived, Fleetwood2-xxxx and Fleetwood7-xxxx.
The Fleetwoods continued to record into the 1960s, with a number of other successes, although none so big as "Come Softly to Me". Their second hit, "Mr. Blue," was one of the few recordings by a white singing group to make the rhythm & blues chart. The beginning of the end for the group came when Troxel was drafted into the U.S. Navy. Additionally, the British Invasion of the mid 1960s ended the public's taste for sweet, melodic music.
By the late 1970s, Troxel was working in a plywood plant, Ellis was managing a trailer park in Canada, and Christopher was a housewife and modern dance teacher. In 2000, Troxel and his wife Jenifer lost a landmark grandparents' rights case before the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that under the United States Constitution, non-parents seeking custody or visitation rights of a child against the wishes of the child's parents must prove that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child in refusing custody or visitation.
The Great Imposter
The Fleetwoods Lyrics
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To the great imposter
I stood and watched her fall
Couldn't help her at all
Poetry so sweet has her at his feet
She thinks she's the one but
He has just begun
All her friends they just watch her
Don't she know he's on stage
It's not real it's just play
And he's playing the part
That is soon to break her heart
Oh can't she see tomorrow's misery
Soon she'll learn her fate
But it will be too late
All her friends they just watch her
For they know the great imposter
And she's soon to join the roster
All they know the great imposter
"The Great Imposter" by The Fleetwoods is a cautionary tale about a relationship that was lost due to the deception of a charming but insincere lover. The lyrics speak from the perspective of someone who watched their love interest fall for the great imposter, a man who seems to have a way with words and can manipulate others to think highly of him. The singer is powerless to help their lover as she becomes increasingly smitten with the imposter. The chorus emphasizes the fact that her friends are aware of the imposter's true nature but all the singer can do is stand by and watch as she falls deeper under his spell.
The lyrics are poignant in their depiction of a relationship that seems doomed from the start, with the imposter playing a role that is inevitably going to lead to heartbreak. The lines "Don't she know he's on stage, It's not real it's just play" emphasize the fact that the imposter is not being genuine in his expressions of love and affection. The singer sees the impending misery and knows that the imposter is leading their love interest towards a painful end. The song is an exploration of the theme of deceit, betrayal, and the inability to help the ones we love make the right choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I went and lost her
The singer lost someone he cared about
To the great imposter
The person he lost was taken by someone who is pretending to be someone else
I stood and watched her fall
The singer was there to witness the person he cared about falling for the imposter
Couldn't help her at all
The artist was unable to do anything to stop the person he cared about from falling for the imposter
Poetry so sweet has her at his feet
The imposter is using sweet language to charm the person he's trying to deceive
She thinks she's the one but
The person being deceived thinks she's in a special relationship with the imposter
He has just begun
The imposter is just starting to reveal his true intentions
All her friends they just watch her
The person being deceived is surrounded by friends who are aware of what's happening
For they know the great imposter
The person's friends are familiar with the imposter and his deceptive ways
Don't she know he's on stage
The person being deceived is unaware that the imposter is playing a role
It's not real it's just play
The imposter is not being genuine in his actions
And he's playing the part
The imposter is pretending to be someone he's not
That is soon to break her heart
The imposter's actions will lead to the person being deceived experiencing heartbreak
Oh can't she see tomorrow's misery
The person being deceived is unable to see the negative consequences of her actions
Soon she'll learn her fate
The person being deceived will eventually realize what's happening to her
But it will be too late
The person being deceived will realize what's happening to her when it's already too late
And she's soon to join the roster
The person being deceived is about to become another victim of the imposter
All they know the great imposter
Everyone around the person being deceived is aware of the imposter and his deceptive ways
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JACKIE DE SHANNON, SHARI K SHEELEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind