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in: 1971 singles, 1979 singles, 1985 singles,
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Get It On (T. Rex song)

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Get It On
Get It On cover
{{{Type}}} by T. Rex
Album Electric Warrior
Released 2 July 1971
Genre(s)
Length Template:Duration
Label(s) Fly (UK)
Reprise (US)
Songwriter(s) Marc Bolan
Producer(s) Tony Visconti

"Get It On" is a song by the British glam rock group T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album Electric Warrior. Written by frontman Marc Bolan, "Get It On" was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by the group Chase.[3]

History[]

Bolan claimed to have written the song out of his desire to record Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie", and said that the riff is taken from the Berry tune. In fact, a line (And meanwhile, I'm still thinking) of "Little Queenie" is said at the fade of "Get It On".[4]

This was the song that virtually ended the once-solid friendship between Bolan and John Peel, after Peel made clear his lack of enthusiasm for it on air after playing his advance white label copy. Bolan and Peel only spoke once more before the former's death in 1977.[5][6]

During a December 1971 Top of the Pops performance, Elton John mimed a piano on the song.[7][8] This performance is usually the video clip for the song which has aired on various music-video outlets such as VH1 Classic.

The track was recorded at Trident Studios, London and the piano on the record was performed by either Rick Wakeman or Blue Weaver. Mark Paytress notes that both pianists may have played separate parts on the song, with Wakeman contributing only the piano glissandos that feature several times throughout the song. [4] Wakeman, who was desperate for work at the time to pay his rent, had bumped into Bolan in Oxford Street, who offered him the session. Wakeman pointed out to Tony Visconti that the record did not actually need a piano player. Visconti suggested that he could add a gliss; Wakeman said that Visconti could do that, to which Bolan replied, "you want your rent, don't you?" Wakeman did and earned £9 for his efforts.[9]

Saxophones were played by Ian McDonald of King Crimson. Producer Visconti later recalled: "He played all the saxes, one baritone and two altos. I kept the baritone separate but bounced the altos to one track. I bounced the backup vocals to two tracks, making an interesting stereo image."[10] Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan provided back up vocals.[11]

Track listing[]

  • US: Reprise / 1032
  • UK: Fly Records / BUG 10
  • Germany: Ariola / 10 327 AT
  • Denmark: Stateside / 6E 006-92700
  • France: Columbia / CBS 7393 (without "There Was a Time")
  1. "Get It On" (Marc Bolan) – 4:25
  2. "There Was a Time" (Marc Bolan) – 1:00
  3. "Raw Ramp" (Marc Bolan) – 4:14

Personnel[]

  • Marc Bolan: lead vocals, guitar
  • Rick Wakeman and/or Blue Weaver: electric piano and Hammond organ
  • Ian McDonald: baritone and alto saxophone
  • Steve Currie: bass guitar
  • Bill Legend: drums
  • Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan: backing vocals

Chart performance[]

It spent four weeks at the top in the UK, starting 24 July 1971[12] ("Hot Love" was number one for six weeks from March to May)[13], and it was the group's biggest hit overall, with Bolan claiming that it sold a million.[14] It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number ten[15] and at #12 in the Cash Box Top 100[16] in March 1972, becoming the band's only major US hit. The song reached No. 12 in Canada in March 1972.[17]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1971-72) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[12] 1
Australian Singles Chart 11
Canadian RPM Top Singles[17] 12
German GfK chart[18] 3
Dutch Top 40[19] 15
Irish Singles Chart[20] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[21] 6
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 10
US Cash Box Top 100[23] 12


Year-end charts[]

Chart (1971) Rank
Australia 89
UK 11
Chart (1972) Rank
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 56
US Cash Box [25] 58


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Power Station version[]

Get It On (Bang a Gong)
Get It On (Bang a Gong) cover
{{{Type}}} by The Power Station
Album The Power Station
Released 29 April 1985
Recorded 1984
Genre(s) Hard rock
Length 3:43 (45 Mix)
5:31
Label(s) Parlophone
Songwriter(s) Marc Bolan
Producer(s) Bernard Edwards

"Get It On" was covered by The Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a strong hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, where the single peaked at number nine (one place higher than the original) in the summer of 1985.[26] Meanwhile, in the UK, the song reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.[27] When Robert Palmer heard that the other Power Station members had recorded demos for "Bang a Gong", he asked to try out vocals for it. Before long, the band had decided to record the entire album with Palmer.[28] This single, along with "Some Like It Hot", became The Power Station's signature songs.

On 13 July 1985, The Power Station (as well as Duran Duran), had a participation at Live Aid, on the Philadelphia concert, in which the band performed the song, this time, with the British singer Michael Des Barres on vocals.[29]

The female dancer featured in the video is American dancer/singer-songwriter Sara Carlson.[30]

The song also was performed live on the Miami Vice episode "Whatever Works", with Michael Des Barres on vocals,[31] where all of the then-touring group had cameos.

Track listings[]

7" vinyl single[]

  • US: Capitol Records / B-5479
  • UK: Parlophone / R 6096
  • Australia: EMI / A1510
  • Europe: EMI / 20 0632 7
Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Get It On"  Marc Bolan 3:43


Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Go to Zero"  Guy Pratt, Robert Palmer 4:57


12" vinyl single[]

  • US: Capitol Records / V8646
  • UK: Parlophone / 12R 6096
  • Europe: Parlophone / 1C K 060 20 0631 6
  • Canada: Capitol Records / V 75107
Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Get It On"  Bolan 5:31


Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Get It On" (45 Mix)Bolan 3:43
2. "Go To Zero"  Pratt, Palmer 4:57


Chart performance[]

Chart (1985) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 9
US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[26] 19
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[26] 47
Irish Singles Chart[32] 12
UK Singles Chart[27] 22

Other cover versions[]

  • In 1979, studio disco group Witch Queen released a disco version of the song, simply titled, "Bang A Gong". It peaked at number eight on the disco charts.[33]

Sampling and references[]

British dance act Bus Stop (known in the US as "London Bus Stop") sampled the vocals from the T. Rex original in their 2000 pseudo-cover of the song, which charted at No. 59 in the UK.[34]

The alt-country band Old 97's referenced the line "you got the teeth of the Hydra upon you" on the track "Singular Girl" from the album Satellite Rides.

References[]

  1. ↑ Professor Sarah Niblock; Professor Stan Hawkins (28 January 2013). Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4094-9479-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=SM2hAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT44. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Goodman, William (July 3, 2013). Beck Covers Michael Jackson & T. Rex. Fuse Media, Inc..
  3. ↑ Blair Jackson, "Classic Tracks: T. Rex's 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)'", Mix. Archived from the original on 30 August 2006. Retrieved on April 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Paytress, Mark, Bolan: The Rise And Fall Of The 20th Century Superstar, p. 182, Omnibus Press (2003), Template:ISBN
  5. ↑ Paytress, Mark, Bolan: The Rise And Fall Of The 20th Century Superstar, p. 182-3, Omnibus Press (2003), Template:ISBN
  6. ↑ Peel, John, Margrave of the Marshes, p.236, 238–9, Bantam Press (2005), Template:ISBN
  7. ↑ Video clip from 27 December 1971 ''Top of the Pops''. BBC (27 December 1971). Retrieved on August 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ ''Top of the Pops 2'' episode featuring this performance. BBC (23 December 2008). Retrieved on August 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Template:Cite episode
  10. ↑ Classic Tracks: T. Rex's 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)'. Mixonline.com (1 December 1999). Retrieved on August 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ Bang A Gong (Get It On) by T. Rex Songfacts. Songfacts.com. Retrieved on August 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chart Stats – T.Rex – Get It On. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  13. ↑ Chart Stats – T.Rex – Hot Love. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  14. ↑ 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press (26 May 2010). Retrieved on August 14, 2017.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 T. Rex - Chart History. Billboard.
  16. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 3/18/72. Retrieved on August 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 RPM Volume 17 No. 5, March 18, 1972 – RPM. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  18. ↑ dutchcharts.nl – T. Rex – Get It On (Dutch). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  19. ↑ Nederlandse Top 40 – Week 36, 1971 (Dutch). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  20. ↑ irishcharts.ie search results. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved on July 2, 2009.
  21. ↑ norwegiancharts.com – T. Rex – Get It On. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  22. ↑ T. Rex – Get It On – hitparade.ch (German). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  23. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 3/18/72. Retrieved on August 14, 2017.
  24. ↑ Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972. Retrieved on August 14, 2017.
  25. ↑ Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1972. Retrieved on August 14, 2017.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 allmusic ((( The Power Station > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles ))). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Chart Stats – Power Station – Get It On. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  28. ↑ allmusic ((( The Power Station > Biography ))). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  29. ↑ Power station from Live Aid video. NME. Retrieved on October 21, 2013.
  30. ↑ Sara Carlson music dance art|My Story @saracarlson.net Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  31. ↑ Miami Vice: Whatever Works - TV.com. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  32. ↑ irishcharts.ie search results. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  33. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 282.
  34. ↑ Chart Stats – Bus Stop Featuring T Rex – Get It On. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.

Template:T. Rex Template:The Power Station

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