William Shatner, Meet Freddy Mercury and Queen

William Shatner's comments that he had never heard Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' before he recorded a cover of it just shows you're never too old to learn something new.

The classic Queen song is one Shatner sings on the 19-track album 'Major Tom.' He also sings a selection of tracks by many other artists including Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, U2 and the Byrds. Peter Frampton, the Kinks, the Allman Brothers Band, Deep Purple and other legendary rockers guest on the album.

"I knew nothing of it until I came to it in this latter day," Shatner told Spinner of 'Rhapsody.' "I don't have time to identify the songs. I love music and I listen to music, but I had no way of saying 'That's Freddie Mercury and Queen.'

"If you had asked me a year ago about Freddie Mercury and Queen, I wouldn't be able to tell you. If you had played me 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' I would have told you that it was one of the greatest pieces of music I've ever heard.'

"It's modern and beautifully sung. And then if you would have told me about the history of Freddie Mercury and Queen, I would have gasped because it's so dramatic."

Yes, the song is still very much alive to classic rock fans and still gets plenty of airplay, so it's difficult to believe that Shatner, 80, had no memory of ever hearing it. But before you laugh at the former television star who famously portrayed Star Trek Capt. James Tiberius Kirk and more recently Boston Legal's Denny Crane, let's recall Shatner is not alone in his ignorance of some popular music.

Remember that hopefuls on television's 'American Idol' are the latest group to tell the Los Angeles Times they didn't know the Beatles or their music.

“I don’t know anything about the Beatles, I just know they’re amazing” or “I’ve never heard a Beatles song in my life," are just a few comments reported.

Hey, at least everybody seemed to like the new-to-me songs they heard!