William Shatner Sings Nearly Blasphemous Version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (1968)

On a lazy summer weekend last year, we asked for a little help from our friends. We asked: “What are the worst Beatles’ covers you’ve ever heard — ones so bad, they’re good?” And boy did you deliver. You rattled off 15 cringe-inducing covers, including Bill Cosby singing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band;” Sean Connery talking his way through “In My Life;” Wing screeching “I Wanna Hold Your Hand;” Tiny Tim doing damage to “Nowhere Man;” and much more. Looking back, I’m still personally drawn (in a it’s-so-cheesy-it’s-great kind of way) to William Shatner’s version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Riding high on his Star Trek fame, Shatner recorded the song for his first music album, The Transformed Man, a 1968 concept album that juxtaposed classic literature with modern pop lyrics. For example, he put lines from Cyrano de Bergerac next to Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Years later, in a 2001 interview, Paul McCartney laughingly gave props to Shatner’s performance.

When you’re done with this piece of work, I’d encourage to visit The 15 Worst Covers of Beatles Songs.


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