Artist · chart history
William Shatner
Solo artist Montréal Canada
William Shatner is an artist from Montréal. William Shatner has 9 chart appearances on 9 radio countdowns from 8 stations on RockLists, spanning 2004–2025. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Common People”, which appears on 9 lists with a best position of #2. The station that charted William Shatner most often is 90.9 The Bridge (Kansas City, MO), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2004.
William Shatner, born in Montreal in 1931, is Captain Kirk to most of the planet, the man who commanded the starship Enterprise from 1966 to 1994 before a second life as Denny Crane on The Practice and Boston Legal. But he has kept a recording career going on the side ever since The Transformed Man in 1968, and it has always been its own strange thing.
Shatner doesn't sing songs so much as act them, reciting other people's lyrics with the full dramatic weight of a stage actor: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Rocket Man" all got the treatment, and it's never quite clear whether to laugh or applaud. Has Been, in 2004, is the album rock radio's countdowns remember him for, thanks to its "Common People".
The biggest seller came later, though: Seeking Major Tom in 2011, with his takes on "Learning to Fly", "Space Oddity" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Fittingly, in 2021 Shatner actually went up, becoming at 90 the oldest person to fly in space.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by William Shatner on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Common People | 9 | #2 | – | 2004 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 908 | Common People | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century |
| 2024 | 158 | Common People | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs |
| 2024 | 481 | Common People | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time |
| 2022 | 757 | Common People | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s |
| 2005 | 78 | Common People | Y100 Top 150 Songs of 2005 |
| 2005 | 2 | Common People | WBER Listener Countdown 2005 |
| 2004 | 16 | Common People | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2004 |
| 2004 | 56 | Common People | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2004 |
| 2004 | 21 | Common People | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004 |
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