(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - "Blinded by the Light"
Hit Number 1: February 19, 1977
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
One of the biggest misfortunes in Hot 100 chart history is the fact that Bruce Springsteen never had a #1 hit. He's gotten close - his highest-charting single was 1984's "Dancing in the Dark" which got to #2 (It's an 8) and he was part of the USA for Africa's "We Are the World" which hit #1 in 1985. It's up to you whether you wanna count that or not. (Personally I don't) But other than that, Springsteen has never had a single of his own, that he wrote and recorded, hit #1. And that's a damn shame because, well, Bruce Springsteen absolutely rocks. However, he was the writer of "Blinded by the Light," even though his own recording didn't become the big hit. Way before Springsteen became the big star we know him by today, he released two singles in 1973 for his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. "Blinded by the Light" was one of those singles, and the other was "Spirit in the Night." Somehow, neither of these even cracked the Hot 100, but they wouldn't be swept up into obscurity forever. That was because of Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Both of these songs are mystical, almost crazy-sounding, especially if you compare them to the rest of Springsteen's music, and the songs that we truly know him by. "Spirit in the Night" is a song about a group of teenagers with the weirdest nicknames who are out for a night of partying, drinking and having sex. "Blinded by the Light," however, doesn't appear to make an ounce of sense. The first verse's opening line says "Madman drummers, bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat," which at first doesn't seem to mean anything but a bunch of nonsense. Except, both of these singles were quickly written by Springsteen to fill out the rest of the Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. album after the great Clive Davis felt the album needed stronger songs for single release. "Blinded by the Light," according to Springsteen, was written by himself looking at a rhyming dictionary, along with real-life experiences he had. As far as the first line goes, "Madman drummers" is a reference to his drummer Vini Lopez, whose nickname was Mad Man. "Indians in the summer" was a reference to his little league team, and "teenage diplomat" was a reference to himself. To be fair, a lot of the song still doesn't make much sense, but at least we can make sense of some of it.
It seemed like the most random songs became hits in the '70s, and "Blinded by the Light" might be one of the best examples of that happening. Springsteen releases a song that doesn't make it anywhere on the charts, but yet Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover it, and suddenly it's a #1 hit. I get that Springsteen was just starting out when he released his version of "Blinded by the Light," but it's not like Manfred Mann's Earth Band were this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime band. Manfred Mann's first band, simply just named Manfred Mann, had a #1 hit back in 1964 with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," but they didn't do much since then. Yet they cover Springsteen's first single and help send it to #1, which is wild. However, that's not to say that their version isn't good. There's a space-like sounding keyboard riff that plays throughout the song at different times, which is pretty cool, and lead singer, Chris Hamlet Thompson, seems to have a lot of fun with these nonsensical lyrics. Overall, Manfred Mann's Earth Band's version is a lot more experimental than Springsteen's. Springsteen's original is more of a party rocker, with Springsteen barely sounding coherent. Manfred Mann's version is something straight out of the psychedelic era. All the way from the lyrics to the long instrumental solo, it just all sounds like a massive drug trip of a song. But, like, a really cool and enjoyable drug trip.
And of course, you can't talk about this song without bringing up the mishearing of the word "deuce." The line "revved up like a deuce," was a reference by Springsteen to a deuce coupe. (Though the Springsteen original says "cut loose like a deuce") Now, I didn't even know this until now, but apparently Thompson literally sang it like "douche" in the Manfred Mann recording by mistake, so technically nobody ever misheard anything. According to Manfred Mann, they tried to re-record the song with the right word, but in his words "the rest of the song sounded terrible," so they basically said fuck it. They released it with the word "douche" anyway and accepted the song potentially not being a hit. But of course, it still was. Also according to Mann, he thought Springsteen hated their version of "Blinded by the Light" because of the whole "deuce" and "douche" thing, but really Springsteen seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. He still jokes about it to this day.
Also I mean, how could Springsteen be too upset about this? Manfred Mann's version still rocks, and after all, Springsteen probably made crazy royalties from the song after it hit #1. I just like the general vibe of the remake. It rocks out, then it mellows down before picking back up again. Even the "Chopsticks" riff between song parts, which was the band's drummer Chris Slade's idea, is a silly addition that still works. This whole thing is just silly. From the "deuce" crisis, to the song's lyrics, to the fact Manfred Mann's Earth Band took a Springsteen song to #1, it's all just such an insane story. But it's an insane story that resulted in a, let's be honest, great cover.
Oh yeah, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band also covered "Spirit in the Night" in 1975, and took that to #40. Not a #1 hit, but again better than Springsteen did. Their version is a 6.
GRADE: 8/10
IN POP CULTURE:
Some pretty obscure band named Last Licks did a cover of Manfred Mann's Earth Band's version of "Blinded by the Light." (So I guess a cover of a cover) Here's the video of their cover:
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