Get It On (Bang a Gong)

"Get It On" (retitled "Bang a Gong" in the U.S.) was the second UK number one song for the British rock group T. Rex. It was released from their best-known album, Electric Warrior.

While it only spent four weeks at the top in the UK, starting July 24, 1971 ("Hot Love" was number one for six weeks from March-May), it was the group's biggest hit overall, selling nearly a million copies in the UK. It peaked on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number ten in January 1972, becoming the band's only major U.S. hit.

Influence and acclaim
At concerts (notably at the famous Empire Pool gig in 1972) singer Marc Bolan would rub a tambourine up and down the fretboard of his white Fender Stratocaster during the song's climax.

It is seen by many to be the greatest single of the glam rock era, with its wailing feedback and its elegant strings counterpointing against its (much imitated) riff. However, Bolan claims to have written the song out of his desire to record Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie", and says that the riff is totally taken from the Berry song. In fact, a line (And meanwhile, I'm still thinking) of "Little Queenie" is said at the fade of "Get It On".

Numerous artists have copied (deliberately or subconsciously) the song's main riff, notably the band Oasis, who used a very similar riff from "Get It On" on their singles "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and "Some Might Say". The band AC/DC (whose Malcolm Young was a Bolan fan) used a similar sounding riff on their album track "High Voltage" in 1975. Prince also used a similar riff on his U.S. chart-topper "Cream". The 1974 Rolling Stones song, "It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)" also uses a similarly styled riff.

The retitling of the song in the U.S. was to avoid confusion with a song by the same name by the group Chase. Nonetheless, it remains arguably the group's best-known song, and one of the songs most closely associated with the era.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Get It On" at number 36 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Power Station version
"Get It On (Bang a Gong)" was covered by The Power Station in 1985. Their version was released as the second single from their debut album. The track was a minor hit on the UK Singles Chart (reaching number 22) but it peaked at number nine (one place higher than the original) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. 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. This single, along with "Some Like It Hot", became the Power Stations' signature songs.

The song was performed live on Miami Vice with Michael Des Barres on vocals, where all of the then-touring group had cameos.

7": Parlophone / R 6096 (UK)

 * 1) "Get It On" (45 Mix) - 3:43
 * 2) "Go To Zero" - 4:57

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6096 (UK)

 * 1) "Get It On" - 5:31
 * 2) "Get It On" (45 Mix) - 3:43
 * 3) "Go To Zero" - 4:57

Covers, samples and media appearances

 * Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry included a cover of it on Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker, a 1983 album by his side project, aptly named The Joe Perry Project.
 * The 1980s British "sophisti-pop" band The Blow Monkeys performed the song live; two such performances are documented on the DVDs Animal Magic and Live in London.
 * The British production group Bus Stop (known in the U.S. as "London Bus Stop") sampled the vocals from the T. Rex original in their 2000 version of the song, which charted at #59 in the UK.
 * The 2001 reissue of Blondie's classic 1978 album Parallel Lines included a live recording of the song (from 1977 or '78) as a bonus track.
 * The song was featured in the 2005 movie Jarhead, directed by Sam Mendes.

Track listing
UK 7" vinyl single:
 * "Get It On"
 * "There Was a Time"
 * "Raw Ramp"