Marc Bolan

In the early 1970s Marc Bolan emerged as a leading architect of glam rock, especially across England, where he contributed vocals, songs, and guitar work. Following the 1965-1966 release of his first solo single “The Wizard” and its Decca successors “The Third Degree” and “Hippy Gumbo” in Britain, he entered the lineup of John’s Children in 1967. That same year percussionist Steve Peregrine Took joined him to create the acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, which issued three albums—My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair but Now They’re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968), Prophets, Seers and Sages, the Angels of the Ages (1968), and Unicorn (1969)—before the partnership dissolved, leaving Bolan in possession of the group name. He then recruited Mickey Finn for the electric Beard of Stars (1970).

By late 1970 the shortened moniker T. Rex yielded a British hit with “Ride a White Swan,” the opening entry in a run of ten consecutive Top Ten singles, alongside the album T. Rex. Bolan and Finn augmented the unit with bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend, transforming T. Rex into a full rock & roll ensemble that secured a number-one single with “Hot Love” and another chart-topper with “Get It On.” Retitled “Bang a Gong (Get It On),” the track registered T. Rex’s sole major American success, reaching the Top Ten in 1972. The landmark Electric Warrior followed in 1971, ascending to the summit of the U.K. charts and spawning the single “Jeepster.” “Telegram Sam” then delivered the band’s third British number one, succeeded in May 1972 by “Metal Guru,” their fourth chart-topping release. Amid the ensuing T.Rextasy phenomenon in Britain, multiple reissues also entered the charts.

The subsequent studio album The Slider attained Top Ten status in July 1972; the seventh consecutive Top Ten single, “Children of the Revolution,” appeared in September, with “Solid Gold Easy Action” arriving in December. March 1973 brought “Twentieth Century Boy,” the ninth Top Ten single, and the Top Ten album Tanx. “The Groover” in June completed the sequence of ten straight Top Ten hits.

That August Bolan issued the commercially unsuccessful “Blackjack” single under the billing Marc Bolan with Big Carrot, testing a solo credit before returning to the T. Rex name even as the original configuration began to splinter. Commercial and critical momentum waned thereafter, yielding Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (1974), Bolan’s Zip Gun (1975), Futuristic Dragon (1976), and Dandy in the Underworld (1977). An automobile accident claimed Bolan’s life in 1977, after which his catalog received repeated reissues in the U.K.