The Epic Track: “Bang A Gong”

Editor’s Note: There are certain tracks that are, well, “epic” — memorable, larger than life, carved into music history. In this series, we look at one of them.

***

Is there a lyric more redolent of the free-spirited 1970s than “You’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl”?

In 1971, the English glam band T. Rex (fronted by Marc Bolan and formerly billed as the less marquee-friendly “Tyrannosaurus Rex”) released “Bang a Gong” (Get it On)” on their 1971 album Electric Warrior. It’s an ode to sex and mystery, backed by delicious instrumentation and sung with erotic charisma by Bolan. It’s become a dance classic and an earworm for the ages.

T. Rex was spawned in 1967 by Marc Bolan and a shifting crew of musicians, who began their careers in a more folkie/psychedelic mode. There was potential in Bolan’s mad lyrics and impressive musicianship, but T. Rex didn’t hit their stride until Bolan changed genres and applied his skills to the new classification of “Glam Rock.” Those aspects began with Bolan himself (he was a teen model), with his nimbus of curly dark hair, liquid eyes, glitter make-up, and gender-bending outfits.

After this transformation, UK hits followed with “Hot Love,” “Metal Guru,” “Telegram Sam” and, most notably, “Bang a Gong (Get it On).” (For the record, the original title was “Get it On,” but since this was the same name as a concurrent track by the group Chase, it was retitled to differentiate the two.)

“Bang a Gong (Get it On)” has been universally embraced for its whimsical word salad and driving beat. Bolan’s vocals are reminiscent of a warmer, more accessible Jim Morrison. His guitar work is filled with skill and nuance. There’s a tone of ballsy simplicity as he delivers stanzas saluting his love’s erotic appeal.

So, how does Bolan honor his love in this quirky tune? Here’s where the joyful lyrical madness comes into play. “Dirty and sweet” feels right. “Clad in black” makes visual sense. But “slim and weak” and “hydra teeth”? Bolan takes us on a confoundingly trippy ride.

“Bang a Gong (Get it On”) has been covered by Power Station, Blondie, U2, and Simple Minds, among others, and Def Leppard actually lifted the odd lyric fragment “diamond star halo” for the title of their 12th studio album.

So revered was T. Rex in the U.K. in 1971 that a famous performance on BBC’s “Top of the Pops” features a young Elton John actually miming some keyboard action with them onstage, just to be a part of the magic.

Marc Bolan was a stunningly prolific music maker who began his career as a folkie in the mid-1960s and experimented with various musical categories until settling into his true calling: glam rock with a gritty edge and an overlay of the blues. He acknowledged writing “Bang a Gong (Get it On)” as an homage to Chuck Berry’s 1959 “Little Queenie.” It contains an undeniable nod to Berry’s riffs, plus he slipped in one of Berry’s verbatim lyrics (“Meanwhile, I’m still thinking…”) in the outro.

 

He was influenced by other icons as well, changing his birth name from Mark Feld to Marc Bolan in honor of Bob Dylan, merging the first and last portions of his stage name to form his own.

Producer Tony Visconti speaks fondly of Bolan’s wildly inventive mind that led him to endlessly pen songs and poems in a student notebook; these abundant creations could have kept Bolan stocked with music for decades.

Marc Bolan led a life of rock and roll debauchery that eventually took him out of commission. Tragically, he died in a car accident that injured his girlfriend Gloria Jones, who was behind the wheel. He was only 29 years old.

But his impressive output in that sadly short span still contains an epic track in the form of “Bang a Gong (Get it On),” a bluesy banger if ever there was one.

-Ellen Fagan

Photo: Marc Bolan, 1973 (public domain)