U2, Elton John, & Joan Jett, & John Lennon’s Sons Set For T. Rex Tribute Album

Marc Bolan and T. Rex will be saluted with the September 4th release of the 26-track tribute album, AngelHeaded Hipster. Variety reported that in addition to U2 and Elton John teaming up to cover Bolan's signature classic “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” the album also features performances by Todd Rundgren, Joan Jett, both Julian and Sean Lennon on separate tracks, Lucinda Williams, Perry Farrell, David Johansen, Maria McKee, and Kesha, among others.

According to the report, “The album features special guests Donald Fagen, Mike Garson, Bill Frisell, Wayne Kramer, Van Dyke Parks, and Marc Ribot.”

The tribute set serves as a tie-in with T. Rex's long-awaited induction this year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the upcoming T. Rex documentary — Children Of The Revolution. Both the tribute set and film have been produced by BMG, in collaboration with the Who's manager Bill Curbishley's Trinifold company.

At then height of his early-'70s fame, Marc Bolan spoke candidly about what motivated him to seek a life in the arts, and his frustration with the preconceived notions of the music business: “They want to pigeonhole you into something that is not necessarily what you do. I'm, sort of, a cross between a lot of people — media-wise. The first person who turned me on when I decided what I was really going to do was Bob Dylan. Because, I started as a poet — I used to write when I was about nine. I realized if I used what really moved me as a human being — which is rock n' roll — and I put the words that I felt, very deeply inside of me, that it would be alright. And he was successful at that, and I figured I might be.”

Marc Bolan died in a car accident in London on September 16th, 1977. He was 30 years old.