Song:It Was A Very Good Year
Album:The Transformed Man
William Shatner's 1968 album The Transformed Man is generally considered one of the worst albums of all time...if you're talking about music. However it is a comedy classic and has become an endearing cult classic. The main attraction of the album is it's hard to tell if Shatner is serious. So everyone knows who he is. And it wasn't unusual back in the 60s to try and turn TV stars into singers usually with mixed results because some of them can't sing. So some of the Star Trek stars got the opportunity to record. Nichelle Nichols was a very good singer but nothing special so her music went nowhere. Leonard Nimoy thought he was a folk singer but he was pretentious. I think The Transformed Man was a sendup but the whole appeal is you're not supposed to know if Shatner is serious. The Transformed Man was released on Decca Records in 1968 and it is available on CD as a budget release. Part of the reason the album works is producer Don Ralke specialized in turning TV actors into recording artists. Ralke started out as a bongo player for Buddy Collette. While working on the music for the popular TV series 77 Sunset Strip, he produced the smash hit Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb by actor Edd Byrnes. He also produced Connie Stevens and Lorne Greene. So Ralke knew what he was doing with Shatner. Over the years Shatner has recorded occasionally. His 2004 CD Has Been was produced by Ben Folds. Here's William Shatner performing It Was A Very Good Year on The Mike Douglas Show Feb. 28, 1969.
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