• Writer: Marc Bolan
• Producer: Tony Visconti
• Recorded: Spring 1971 in London
• Released: September 1971
• Players:
  Marc Bolan — vocals, guitar
  Steve Currie — bass
  Will Legend — drums
  Mickey Finn — percussion, vocals
  Ian McDonald — saxophone
  Burt Collins — flugelhorn
  Tony Visconti — piano
  Howard Kaylan — backing vocals
  Mark Volman — backing vocals
• Album: Electric Warrior (Reprise, 1971)
• Also On:
  Electric Warrior Sessions (Pilot, 1997)
  Live 1977 (Chronicles, 1997)
  20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection (Hip-O, 2002)
• The second single from T. Rex‘s best-selling Electric Warrior album, “Jeepster” did not equal the chart-topping success of its predecessor, “Get It On (Bang A Gong),” but it came close, hitting Number Two in the U.K. The single didn’t chart in the U.S.
• T. Rex leader Marc Bolan did not want “Jeepster” to be released as a single, but when he decided to leave Fly Records, which was his British label, the company decided to ignore his wishes and release the song anyway.
• “Jeepster” was one of the first T. Rex songs to make use of strings and woodwinds, with two cellos and a bassoon subtly reinforcing the descending riff of the song.
• The Electric Warrior album marked a number of changes for T. Rex. The group had been founded in 1967 as a duo of Bolan and percussionist Steve Peregrine Took. The two originally performed as Tyrannosaurus Rex.
• Took left in October 1969 and was replaced by Mickey Finn. Bolan and Finn worked as a duo for a year until Steve Currie joined on bass. Drummer Bill Legend joined in the spring of 1971.
• Electric Warrior was the first T. Rex album recorded by the quartet, though it was abetted by guests such as former King Crimson and future Foreigner saxophonist Ian McDonald, Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and the vocal duo Flo & Eddie (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of the Turtles).
• Electric Warrior reached Number 32 on the Billboard 200. It spent six weeks at Number One in the U.K.
• During the Electric Warrior tour, the Beatles‘ Apple Corps filmed a documentary about T. Rex, titled Born To Boogie.

FAST FORWARD:

• T. Rex continued through an assortment of personnel changes until 1977, when the final touring lineup of the band splintered.
• Bolan was killed in a car crash in London in 1977 at age 29.
• A stone memorial to Bolan was unveiled at the site of the crash on the 20th anniversary of his death.
• Other members of T. Rex have also died: Steve Peregrine Took choked to death on a cherry in 1980, after ingesting too many hallucinogenic mushrooms; Steve Currie was killed in a car crash in Portugal in 1981; and Mickey Finn died in 2003 from chronic liver and kidney problems.
• The current lineup of T. Rex continues to tour.
• Bolan’s son Rolan Bolan is a performer and recording artist in his own right. His mother is American soul singer Gloria Jones, who recorded the original version of “Tainted Love” in 1964, and who cowrote the 1972 Gladys Knight & the Pips hit “If I Were Your Woman.”
• Three unreleased songs recorded with Bolan were included on the reissue of the 1973 Electric Light Orchestra album ELO II in 2003.

The Power Station, which included Robert Palmer, Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor, hit Number Nine on the pop chart in 1985 with a cover version of T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On).”