Get It On

Bolan wrote it, and it was issued as a single in July 1971. It spent four weeks at number 1 in the UK from 24 July. Bolan said the song grew from his wish to record Chuck Berry's Little Queenie and that the riff came from it. A slightly changed line from that song, "and meanwhile I'm still thinking", appears in the fade, and Visconti said it was an unscripted ad-lib by Bolan.

Ian McDonald of King Crimson played all the saxophones, one baritone and two altos, and Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan sang backing vocals. Rick Wakeman is credited with keyboards. Bill Legend recalled learning the song in Bolan's hotel room on Sunset Strip by tapping on a snare as Bolan ran through the song. In North America it was retitled Bang a Gong (Get It On) to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by Chase. It reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's only US top ten hit. When T. Rex played it on Top of the Pops in December 1971, Elton John mimed piano.

The Power Station took it to number 9 in the US in 1985, and played it at Live Aid in Philadelphia on 13 July 1985 with Michael Des Barres singing. Oasis borrowed its riff for Cigarettes & Alcohol, and Def Leppard named an album, Diamond Star Halos, after a line in it.