| "Teenage Dream" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Marc Bolan and T. Rex | ||||
| from the album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow | ||||
| B-side | "Satisfaction Pony" | |||
| Released | 9 February 1974 | |||
| Recorded | August 1973, United States | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:57 | |||
| Label | EMI/T. Rex Wax Company (MARC 7) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Marc Bolan | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Visconti, Marc Bolan | |||
| Marc Bolan and T. Rex singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Teenage Dream" is a 1974 single by Marc Bolan and T. Rex, appeared also on the album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow .
After releasing records under the 'T. Rex' name since 1970, "Teenage Dream" was the first release to be credited to 'Marc Bolan and T. Rex' [2] "Teenage Dream" was co-produced by Tony Visconti and Bolan, and featured Lonnie Jordan of War on piano. [3] It was released as a single in February 1974, and spent five weeks in the UK top 40, peaking at number 13. [4] Biographer Mark Paytress called it Bolan's "coming out record", saying that it was "so drenched in melodramatic resignation that it was less a lament than a lordly glimpse through the iron bars of an increasingly detached existence". [3] The song was described by AllMusic as "a virtual mini-opera", with "soaring strings, wailing guitars, towering chorales, and a genuinely foreboding sense of drama". [5] Ken Barnes of Rolling Stone , however, wrote in a 1974 article that the song "suffers from pointless, jumbled lyrics and self-conscious Dylan-styled intonations and drags on for far too long." [6] Bolan himself regarded "Teenage Dream" as the best lyric he had written. [3] It was also chosen by Bolan's former partner Gloria Jones as her favourite Bolan lyric. [7] He wrote and recorded the song while on tour in the United States in August 1973. [3] It was one of the last tracks written for the Zinc Alloy album and these sessions were the last time Bolan recorded with Visconti. [8]
The original single and album releases end with a fade out at 5 minutes. Several more recent releases include an additional part that the band recorded in 1973, extending the song for another 45 seconds. This extended version was first released in the 1980s, when the Official Marc Bolan Fan Club had the albums originally released on the "T. Rex Wax Co." label – including Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – reissued on the newly founded "Marc on Wax" label.
Some early UK pressings of this single are credited just to "Marc Bolan". [9]
The song was released as a single in France and Germany with "Mad Donna" as the B-side. In Italy it was released with "Venus Loon" on the B-side. The Japanese single on the Odeon label featured "Satisfaction Pony" on the reverse.
In the US, "Teenage Dream" was included on the album Light of Love . [10]
A version of the song was recorded for the BBC, and this was released on the album The BBC Recordings 1970–1976 in 2007. [11]
"Teenage Dream" featured on the soundtrack of the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and the intro of the song was used briefly in the movie. [12]
"Teenage Dream" was recorded and released as a single in 1994 by Darryl Read, with T.Rex drummer Bill Legend repeating his performance from the original. Reissued in 2009, the single had a promotional video filmed at the Roundhouse, London with T. Rex fans. It was also recorded by former T. Rex drummer Mickey Finn on his 2002 album Renaissance . In a 2007 concert to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Bolan's death, "Teenage Dream" was performed by Marc Almond. [13]
Marc Bolan was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan strongly influenced artists of many genres, including glam rock, punk, post-punk, new wave, indie rock, Britpop and alternative rock. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of T. Rex.
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has worked in multiple genres as a Motown songwriter and recording artist, backing vocalist, and as a performer in musicals such as Hair. In the 1970s, she was a keyboardist and vocalist in Marc Bolan's glam rock band T. Rex. She and Bolan were also in a committed romantic relationship and had a son together.
The Slider is the seventh studio album by English rock band T. Rex, and the third since abbreviating their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 21 July 1972 by record labels EMI and Reprise. Two number-one singles, "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru", were released to promote the album. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, The Slider received acclaim from critics, reaching number 4 in the UK Albums Chart and number 17 in the US.
A Beard of Stars is the fourth studio album by English psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex, and their last before changing their name to T. Rex. It was released in March 1970 by record label Regal Zonophone.
T. Rex is a 1970 album by Marc Bolan's band T. Rex, the first under that name and the fifth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 18 December by record labels Fly and Reprise. The album continued the shift begun by its predecessor from the band's previous folk style to a minimal rock sound, with an even balance of electric and acoustic material.
Tanx is a 1973 album by rock band T. Rex, the eighth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968, and the fourth under the moniker T. Rex. It was released on 16 March by record label EMI. Tanx was a musical departure from previous works: still containing tracks in the vein of The Slider, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan showed his interest for soul music, funk and gospel. Female backing singers appeared on a few tracks. New instruments such as mellotron were used, played by producer Tony Visconti, allowing the T. Rex sound to evolve.
My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows is the debut album by psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex. The release of the album was planned for early May but delayed until 5 July 1968 by record label Regal Zonophone.
"Hot Love" is a song by English glam rock band T. Rex, released as a standalone single on 12 February 1971 by record label Fly. It was the group's first number one placing on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained at the top for six weeks beginning on 14 March 1971.
"Get It On" is a song by the English rock band 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.
Dandy in the Underworld is the twelfth and final studio album by English rock band T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI. It reached No. 26 in the UK charts, the band's highest-charting album since 1974's Zinc Alloy. The lead-off single "I Love to Boogie" had been a hit single in the UK the previous year, peaking at number 13 in the singles chart.
"Ride a White Swan" is a song by English band T. Rex. It was released as a stand-alone single on 9 October 1970 by record label Fly, and was the first single credited under the band's new, shorter name. Like all of the band's songs, it was written by the group's singer, guitarist and founder Marc Bolan. The song was included on the US version of the 1970 album, T. Rex.
Bolan's Zip Gun is the tenth studio album by English rock band T. Rex, released in February 1975 by record label EMI.
Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow is an album by English rock band T. Rex, the ninth since Tyrannosaurus Rex's debut LP. It was released in March 1974 on the T.Rex record label, distributed by EMI. It was the first and only album to be released under the moniker "Marc Bolan & T. Rex".
Light of Love is a US-only album released by British rock band T. Rex in 1974. It is composed of 3 tracks previously released in the UK on the album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, together with 8 songs recorded in the Spring of 1974 at Music Recorders Inc. Studios in Hollywood which would later appear on the album Bolan's Zip Gun. The album was engineered by Gary Ulmer and, in the absence of Tony Visconti, was produced by Marc Bolan himself. The album marked the first time that a T. Rex album had been produced without Tony Visconti and also marked Bolan's debut in this role. "Till Dawn", was re-recorded for Bolan's Zip Gun with Bolan at the controls.
T. Rex were an English rock band formed in London in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan, who was their leader, frontman and only consistent member. Though initially associated with the psychedelic folk genre, Bolan began to change the band's style towards electric rock in 1969, and shortened their name to T. Rex the following year. This development culminated in 1970 with their first significant hit single "Ride a White Swan", and the group soon became pioneers of the glam rock movement.
"Light of Love" is a 1974 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex. The track is taken from the album Bolan's Zip Gun whilst its B-side, "Explosive Mouth", features on the 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow. In the US, both songs appeared on the US only compilation album Light of Love. Rolling Stone magazine's Ken Barnes praised the single's "upbeat" and "economical" sound in a 1974 review, claiming Bolan's new output to be "fresh and attractive".
"Truck On (Tyke)" is a 1973 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex, released 16 November 1973. Neither the track nor its B-side, "Sitting Here", appeared on an original T. Rex studio album, but both were added as bonus material on re-releases of the 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow. The record was poorly received critically and did not perform as well in the charts as previous T. Rex singles. The single was in the UK Singles Chart for a total of eleven weeks, peaking at No. 12, "Truck On (Tyke)" was the second to last T. Rex single, before 1974's "Teenage Dream", to break the top 20 until 1975's "New York City". Marc Bolan acknowledged that "Truck On (Tyke) is my 14th hit record and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it didn't make number one." Later, Bolan would claim the move to be deliberate, stating that its release "was a planned thing. I wanted something not so good to happen to compare it (future material) against".
"The Groover" is a 1973 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex. Neither the track nor its B-side are taken from an album. However, they are often added as bonus material on re-releases of the 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow.
"Dandy in the Underworld" is a song by English rock band T. Rex, released by EMI on 27 May 1977 as the third single from their twelfth and final studio album Dandy in the Underworld. The song was written and produced by Marc Bolan.
"King of the Rumbling Spires" is a single by Tyrannosaurus Rex, released in July 1969. It featured the duo of Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrine Took and was written by Bolan. It was a minor chart hit, the first by the group to contain electric guitar instead of acoustic, and was Took's last appearance with the duo on record.
