On Sept. 16, 1977, rock 'n' roll lost one of its greatest talents: Marc Bolan, leader of T. Rex. Bolan and his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, were returning home after dinner when the vehicle she was driving left the road, smashed through a fence and hit a tree. Bolan, who was a passenger and whose side of the vehicle took the brunt of the impact, was thrown into the back of the car and killed instantly.

The official cause of death was "shock and hemorrhage" due to multiple injuries consistent with a traffic accident. The artist, born Mark Feld, died just a couple weeks shy of his 30th birthday.

The music world was in shock at the news of the death of Bolan, who had become one of the leaders of Britain's glam rock scene. Rod Stewart, Elton John, and David Bowie were among the mourners at his funeral at the Golders Green Crematorium. Meanwhile, Cliff Richard, Keith Moon, and Gary Glitter were among those who sent along flowers in honor of the late rocker.

At the time of his death, Bolan was piecing his life back together after his marriage ended and his health began to fail due to his cocaine addiction. The birth of his son in 1975 started him on a comeback path, and he had just shot a TV special prior to the night of his death and was planning new music and a tour.

Bolan's son Rolan, who was not in the vehicle and was only 20 months old at the time at the accident, returned to the site of the crash years later where he unveiled a monument to his late father and announced his intentions to pursue music as a career. In 2007, the 30th anniversary of Bolan's death, the site in south-west London was officially recognized as Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine by the English Tourist Board in their England Rocks guidebook.

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