10 Things That Wouldn't Exist Without Leonard Nimoy

8. The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins

Speaking of which, Nimoy's ego-ridden Star Trek co-star is a frequent figure of fun for his disastrous, seemingly un-ironic ventures into pop music. From the height of his initial fame to now William Shatner has recorded and performed bizarre spoken word renditions of everything from Elton John's "Rocket Man" to Pulp's "Common People", with fans rarely agreeing on whether he's taking the mickey or not. All of which diverts attention from the fact that Leonard Nimoy actually beat Shatner to the punch this time. He released five albums on the Dot Records label between 1967 and 1970, beginning with Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr Spock's Music from Outer Space €“ where he sung in character €“ and ending with The New World of Leonard Nimoy, where he covered country standards like "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town". In the middle of that short musical career he recorded what was to be his crowning achievement. With barmy lyrics by songwriter Charles Randolph Grean, The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins recounts the story of The Hobbit in musical form, the accompanying video involving Nimoy performing amidst a group of hip sixties chicks with pointy ears and big feat. Truly amazing.