"Wam Bam: Glam Rock, 1971-75" compilation

A couple of years ago I was reading about old glam rock hits, and I realized there were a lot that many people considered important to the genre, but that I'd never heard. That led me to search for a good, comprehensive compilation, but I was surprised that there really isn't one.

This may be due to key tracks being on different record labels. Or it could be that glam rock is more closely defined by what it looks like than it sounds like. Indeed, the fashion of its stars was often far more outrageous than the music.

And what songs are considered "glam rock" by one person are often categorized as "bubble gum," "power pop," or any number of other sub-genres by another. So this imagined five-CD box set includes tracks that I gathered from a number of "top glam rock songs" lists I found online. Some you'll undoubtedly agree with, others you may not.

DISC 1 - SHINING
1. Hot Love - T. Rex
2. Co-Co - The Sweet
3. Bang a Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex
4. Coz I Luv You - Slade
5. Funny, Funny - The Sweet
6. Jeepster - T. Rex
7. Alexander Graham Bell - The Sweet
8. John, I'm Only Dancing - David Bowie
9. All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople
10. Stay With Me - The Faces
11. Clap Your Hands and Stamp Your Feet - Bonnie St. Claire & Unit Gloria
12. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to be a Long, Long Time) - Elton John
13. Standing in the Road - Blackfoot Sue
14. School's Out - Alice Cooper
15. Changes - David Bowie
16. Telegram Sam - T. Rex
17. Little Willy - The Sweet
18. Rock and Roll (Parts 1 & 2) - Gary Glitter
19. Virginia Plain - Roxy Music
20. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Slade
21. Starman - David Bowie
22. Children of the Revolution - T. Rex
23. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
24. Elected - Alice Cooper
25. Son of My Father - Chicory Tip
26. Wig-Wam Bam - The Sweet
27. 10538 Overature - Electric Light Orchestra

DISC 2 - SPARKLING
1. The Jean Genie - David Bowie
2. Metal Guru - T. Rex
3. Poppa Joe - The Sweet
4. Crocodile Rock - Elton John
5. Gudbuy T'Jane - Slade
6. Suffragette City - David Bowie
7. Solid Gold, Easy Action - T. Rex
8. Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
9. Cum on Feel the Noize - Slade
10. I'm the Leader of the Gang (I am) - Gary Glitter
11. See My Baby Jive - Wizzard
12. 20th Century Boy - T. Rex
13. Do You Wanna Dance - Barry Blue
14. Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
15. Tiger Feet - Mud
16. Dancin' (On a Saturday Night) - Barry Blue
17. 48 Crash - Suzi Quatro
18. Block Buster! - The Sweet
19. Rock On - David Essex
20. Street Life - Roxy Music
21. Dynamite - Mud
22. The Groover - T. Rex
23. Angel Fingers (A Teenage Ballad) - Wizzard
24. Can the Can - Suzi Quatro
25. Hellraiser - The Sweet
26. Life on Mars? - David Bowie
27. Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) - Elton John
28. Do You Wanna Touch Me There (Oh Yeah) - Gary Glitter

DISC 3 - GLITTERING
1. My Coo Ca Choo - Alvin Stardust
2. Skweeze Me Pleeze Me - Slade
3. Looking for a Kiss - New York Dolls
4. Truck On (Tyke) - T. Rex
5. Wired Up - Hector
6. All the Way from Memphis - Mott the Hoople
7. No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
8. All Because of You - Geordie
9. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
10. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us - Sparks
11. Do the Strand - Roxy Music
12. Teenage Rampage - The Sweet
13. Killer Queen - Queen
14. Jealous Mind - Alvin Stardust
15. Angel Face - The Glitter Band
16. Devil Gate Drive - Suzi Quatro
17. The "In" Crowd - Bryan Ferry
18. Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
19. Seven Deadly Finns - Brian Eno
20. Teenage Dream - Marc Bolan & T. Rex
21. Horror Movie - Skyhooks
22. Summerlove Sensation - Bay City Rollers
23. Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth - Sparks
24. Sugar Baby Love - The Rubettes
25. Magic - Pilot
26. Needle in the Camel's Eye - Brian Eno
27. Light of Love - T. Rex

DISC 4 - FADING
1. Diamond Dogs - David Bowie
2. Dance with the Devil - Cozy Powell
3. Seven Seas of Rhye - Queen
4. The Six Teens - Sweet
5. The Bitch is Back - Elton John
6. You You You - Alvin Stardust
7. Rebels Rule - Iron Virgin
8. Va Va Va Voom - Brett Smiley
9. Action - Sweet
10. Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Ian Hunter
11. Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
12. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
13. January - Pilot
14. Give Me a Little Love - Bay City Rollers
15. Nothing to Do with Us - Jet
16. All My Friends Are Getting Married - Skyhooks
17. New York Groove - Hello
18. Get Down and Get With It - Slade
19. Love is the Drug - Roxy Music
20. New York City - T. Rex
21. Glass of Champagne - Sailor
22. Bye Bye Baby - Bay City Roller
23. Fox on the Run - Sweet
24. Sky High - Jigsaw
25. The Tears I Cried - The Glitter Band
26. Roxy Roller - Sweeney Todd
27. I Love Rock n Roll - The Arrows
28. Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss

The general consensus seems to be that glam rock began when Marc Bolan appeared on "Top of the Pops" in 1971 in glitter makeup. And the genre seems to have pretty much run its course by 1976 and the punk explosion. So I included only songs from 1971 through 1975. The songs are presented here in mostly chronological order. And what a collection it is -- it's really all over the place musically.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to me is that it remained a British phenomenon that never seemed to catch on elsewhere in the world—although the styles would greatly influence later musicians, most notably the L.A. metal scene in the 1980s.

I found the glitter background and a sparkly guitar online and used them for this box set cover and added titles.