20th Century Boy

T. Rex released 20^th Century Boy as a single in 1973. The song is written by T. Rex front man Marc Bolan. In the early 70s T. Rex was arguably the biggest band in the UK with a sting of 8 top 20 hits. During that time the mania that surrounded T. Rex was referred to as T. Rextasy, and was often compared to the mania that surrounded the Beatles. Despite that success, they never really got over in the US. The exception to that being the single Get It On (Bang a Gong), which reached number 10 state side. 20^th Century Boy peaked at number 3 on the UK singles chart. It wasn’t originally included on an album, but appears on a reissue of the 1973 album Tanx. It charted again in the UK in 1991 when it appeared in a Levis ad starring Brad Pitt. I think that’s the second time one of the songs I’ve featured has charted for a second time because of a Levis ad. Seems like pop music and advertising do go together. Who would have known? They’re used so rarely in ads these days.

20^th Century Boy has been covered by a whole bunch of people since its release. I’m featuring the Replacements version. It was included as B side on the single I Will Dare, along with a cover of Hank Williams’s Hey Good Lookin’. It also appears as a bonus track on the 2008 reissue of the 1984 album Let It Be. A critically acclaimed album, Let It Be has received several accolades over the years. In 2003 Rolling Stone ranked it the 239^th greatest album of all time, and called it a post-punk masterpiece. In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked it number 15 on their best 100 albums of the 80s list. When VH1 did its miniseries, VH1's 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll they ranked Let It Be number 79. There’s more, but I feel like I’m starting to overdo it. Anyway, it’s an awesome album. You should probably check it out.

T. Rex:

The Replacements:

I totally like both versions of this song, but it’s pretty clear to me that the T. Rex version is better. I'm a huge fan of both these bands. Check them out if you haven’t. T. Rex’s Born to Boogie is one of the best rock and roll DVDs you can buy.