Sometime between "Transformed Man" and "Has Been"--actually, the exact date was January 21, 1978--actor/author/Loblaws spokesman/all-around-Renaissance man William Shatner concocted his own "unplugged and seated" interpretation of a rock classic. Now, many will (rightly) jeer his characteristically histrionic, nicotine-fueled reading of Elton John's "Rocket Man" (or "Rock-It, Man" if you prefer Shatner's inflections) from the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards ceremony, but one of them won't be the song's lyricist Bernie Taupin, who showed up at the event to introduce the number and offer it some much-needed legitimacy. Think two Kirks were scary in "The Enemy Within"? Well, this one offers three of them and you can watch them here. Was that Larry Niven I saw doing a spit take?
If you think you can handle more sensory abuse, check out David Hasselhoff's take on another 70s nugget--"Hooked On A Feeling"--which, amazingly, manages to make Shatner's number look every bit like the Sinatra/Riddle homage it was likely intended to be. Alas, B.J. Thomas' endorsement is nowhere to be found...
Sadly, I've been unable to locate a link to what I feel is the worst music video of all time: Philip Michael Thomas' astonishing ode to hubris: "Just The Way I Planned It". Instead, I can only offer Don Johnson's overproduced and woefully dull "Heart Beat". At least there's a Paul Schaffer cameo and Dweezil Zappa on the axe...
