7 surprising musician cameos on Star Trek series

By: H&I Staff     Posted: July 6, 2016, 9:59PM

Trekkies can be found in all walks of life, from science to sports to politics to music. Rihanna sang the theme to the new Star Trek Beyond citing her fandom of the sci-fi franchise. Over the years, there have been popular punks and hippies, guitarists and drummers, who have popped up on Star Trek television series. Here are some of our favorite musician cameos and where to spot them. Keep your eyes peeled, because these appearances can be brief, and sometimes the rock star is dressed like a fish.

Iggy Pop
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "The Magnificent Ferengi"
Season 6, episode 10

He was a street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm in the Stooges, and he was a diplomatic Vorta with funny ears named Yelgrun in this Quark-centric episode. "Your people have a reputation for cunning," Yelgrun tells Quark. "Family," Quark explains to Yelgrun, "You understand." To which Iggy Pop retorts, "Not really. I was cloned."

Mick Fleetwood
Star Trek: The Next Generation "Manhunt"
Season 2, episode 19

"Don't stop thinking about tomorrow" is as good a theme as any for Star Trek as a whole, so perhaps it is no wonder that the drummer of Fleetwood Mac would turn up. The towering drummer made for an imposing (if silent) figure as one of the Antedean embassadors aboard the Enterprise.

Tom Morelllo of Rage Against the Machine
Star Trek: Voyager "Good Shepard"
Season 6, episode 20

The radical shredder from the rap-metal quartet (not to mention Audioslave) is a big believer in the philosophies of Trek. Before appearing as the human crewmember Mitchell aboard Voyager, the Trekkie made a much more subtle cameo in the film Star Trek: Insurrection, wherein he portrayed a Son'a warrior. Morello requested a cameo in the film, and fortunately the producer's son was a big fan of Rage.

John Tesh
Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Icarus Factor"
Season 2, episode 14

The easy-listening titan, NBA on NBC theme composer and Entertainment Tonight host shows up as a Klingon who cattle-prods Worf on the Holodeck as part of a simulation of a Klingon ritual.

Vanessa Williams
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."
Season 5, episode 7

The beautiful soul singer is no stranger to acting, as she easily transitioned from R&B to silver screen. One of her earliest roles was on DS9, playing the social director named Arandis on a "pleasure planet." We've come a long way from the big white rabbits of "Shore Leave" on The Original Series.

Paul Williams
Star Trek: Voyager "Virtuoso"
Season 6, episode 13

An older generation knows Williams as the writer of Carpenters and Muppets hits ("We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainbow Connection," just to name a couple of his gems) while younger music lovers might best recognize him as the guy with the weird monologue about touch on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. The veteran songwriter and singer aptly appears in a music-centric episode that sees the Doctor transformed into a pop star.

Deborah Downey
Star Trek: The Original Series "The Way to Eden"
Season 3, episode 20

Though she is far from a household name, we would be remiss to not mention one of the most memorable musical moments in Star Trek history. "The Way to Eden" is "the one with the space hippies," and the cosmic folkies ooze the Kumbaya vibes of the era. Downey, playing Mavig, sings, "Long time back when the galaxy was new," alongside the strumming Adam. Downey would record and release the song as "Heading into Eden" on her album Painting Pictures. Later, she would indeed become a painter.

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