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Aug 27, 2020 By Samantha Small B.B. King

You might not know this, but Star Trek actor William Shatner likes to dabble in another form of art: the sweet, sweet music. Today he’s shared a new single, a cover of B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” It features the guitar god, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple.

Originally written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951 and released as a single that year by Hawkins—and coincidentally the same year Shatner made his film debut in The Brothers Karamazov—the track has a sultry blues groove, and even features vocals from Blackmore’s wife, Candice Night. Shatner puts on a conversational type of tone (is it weird to compare him to Bill Callahan) that blends nicely with the Blackmore’s licks.

In a press release, Shatner shared his excitement of working with the famed guitarist. “‘The Thrill is Gone’ is the title of the song, but the thrill is there with Ritchie Blackmore and his great guitar!”

Blackmore and Night returned the praise saying: “We would like to express our gratitude for being able to appear on the recording with William Shatner. It is always an honor to work with him. He is a man of many legendary performances.”

“The Thrill Is Gone” became a blues standard with B.B. King’s hit 1969 version. Shantner’s version is off of his new LP, simply titled The Blues, coming October 2 courtesy of Cleopatra Records. The album mixes blues, rock, and country with features from Sonny Landreth, Brad Paisley, Pat Travers, Tyler Bryant, and more.

Shatner’s last release was 2018’s Christmas album, Shatner Claus. Perhaps his most successful release, Has Been, was a 2004 album overseen by Ben Folds that included a cover of Pulp’s “Common People” and some memorable and amusing original recordings.

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