The Younger Generation Is Missing Out T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy”

via Musikladen / Youtube
Marc Bolan, on guitar and vocals, guided T. Rex (shortcut for Tyrannosaurus Rex) to become the dominant force in glam rock. The underlying sexuality of early rock & roll was appropriated by T. Rex, who also incorporated unclean, simplistic grooves and heavy, warped guitars into their sound. There was also a prevailing folky/hippie spirituality, which was most evident in the bandโs ballads.
Bolan wrote hits that were mostly classics by todayโs standards. And whatโs not to like about it? Bolanโs creativity shined throughout the albums he released with the group, and even with the underrated T. Rex songs, the musician did his best to give pride in what itโs like to be a genius in songwriting. One underrated song worth noting would be T. Rexโs โ20th Century Boy,โ a stand-alone single.
Recording for โ20th Century Boyโ began on December 3, 1972, at Toshiba Recording Studios in Tokyo, Japan. Once T. Rex had finished their tour, they went back to England to record the album Tanx, which the single wasnโt included until the 1985 re-issue. The songโs backing vocals, hand claps, acoustic guitar, and saxophones were all added at this point. Marc Bolan claims that the songโs lyrics are derived from the words of famous people like Muhammad Ali. This is seen in the use of the phrase โsting like a bee,โ which was originally used in one of Aliโs speeches in 1969. Moreover, the song rose to the charts again when it was featured in a 1991 Leviโs commercial with Brad Pitt.
You can watch the bandโs performance in the German TV show Musikladen back in 1973 below.