Jeepster (song)

"Jeepster"
Cover of the original 7" single
Single by T. Rex
from the album Electric Warrior
B-side	"Life's a Gas"
Released	5 November 1971 (1971-11-05)
Genre	Glam rock[1] boogie rock[1]
Length	4:12
Label	Fly
Songwriter(s)	Marc Bolan
Producer(s)	Tony Visconti
T. Rex singles chronology
"Get It On" (1971) "Jeepster" (1971) "Telegram Sam" (1972)

"Jeepster" is a song by English glam rock act T. Rex. It was released on 5 November 1971 by record label Fly as a single from the group's sixth studio album (and second as T. Rex) Electric Warrior. The B-side, "Life's a Gas", is taken from the same album. Several artists have recorded cover versions of it. Both of the single's tracks were written by Marc Bolan^[2] and produced by Tony Visconti.^[3]

The music (and first couple of lines) of "Jeepster" is based on a Howlin' Wolf blues song called "You'll Be Mine," which was written by Willie Dixon. In interviews, T. Rex leader Marc Bolan acknowledged that he "lifted it from a Howlin' Wolf song."^[4]

Release

Originally, "Jeepster" and "Life's a Gas" were pressed up together on 7-inch vinyl as a limited edition promotional disc for Electric Warrior. The disc was upgraded to a fully promoted single with "Jeepster" as the A side on 5 November 1971 by record label Fly. The single peaked at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart,^[5] and was controversial in that Fly Records promoted the song to hit status without singer Marc Bolan's prior permission, Bolan having just left Fly for EMI, which had given him control of his own label T. Rex Wax Co. Records.^[6] The song reached No. 28 in Australia^[7] and No. 73 in Canada.^[8] It was beaten to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart by "Coz I Luv You" by Slade for its first week at No.2 before being blocked from the top place by "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" by Benny Hill for the remaining four weeks.

"Jeepster" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. Billboard and Paste ranked the song number three and number one, respectively, on their lists of the top 10 T. Rex songs.^[9][10]

Cover versions

• Scottish band Altered Images covered the song and it appears on their Happy Birthday Plus album.^[11]
• English band the Polecats covered the song and released it as a 7" single in 1981,^[12] which reached No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart.
• Former Marillion singer Fish covered the song as one of his personal favourites for his album Songs from the Mirror, released in 1993.^[13]
• American rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires, formed in 2015 by Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry to honour the music of the rock stars who died from excess in the 1970s, included the song on their 2015 debut album Hollywood Vampires, to commemorate Marc Bolan's death on 16 September 1977.^[14]
• Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer of Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded a cover, along with another T. Rex track ("Monolith") for a 2019 Record Store Day 7" release.^[15]
• Joan Jett & the Blackhearts performed this on the Marc Bolan anthology of cover versions Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, released in 2020.^[16]

Television

Bolan was a guest on the BBC Television show Cilla in January 1973. He and Cilla Black sang an acoustic version of "Life's a Gas".^[17][18][19]

References

1. Bradley, Larry (4 November 2014). "The 1970s: T. Rex - "Jeepster". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-84403-789-6.
2. "Jeepster - Marc Bolan & T. Rex - Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
3. "Electric Warrior - T. Rex - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
4. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/t-rex/jeepster ^{[bare URL]}
5. "T. Rex | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
6. Raggett, Ned. "Jeepster – T. Rex | Listen, Appearances, Song Review | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
7. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1971". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
8. "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 26, 1972" (PDF).
9. Lynch, Joe (5 November 2020). "T. Rex's 10 Best Songs: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
10. Manno, Lizzie (14 December 2018). "Top 10 Best T. Rex Songs". Paste. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
11. "Happy Birthday Plus". Discogs. 9 February 2004.
12. "Jeepster single". Discogs. 1981.
13. Mawer, Sharon. "Songs from the Mirror". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
14. "Hollywood Vampires - Hollywood Vampires - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
15. "The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Josh Klinghoffer on new Record Store Day single with Chad Smith". 8 April 2019.
16. "Watch Joan Jett cover T-Rex's 'Jeepster' on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden'". NME. 12 September 2020.
17. "Life's A Gas - Cilla Black & Marc Bolan Song - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
18. Hann, Michael (15 September 2014). "Cilla Black: five unlikely musical moments". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
19. Dave Milton (30 August 2009). "Marc Bolan & Cilla Black - Life's A Gas". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2018.

External links

• "Jeepster" at Discogs (list of releases)