Song:Blinded By The Light
Album:The Complete Greatest Hits 1963-2003
Most music fans should know Manfred Mann from his 60s hits like Do Wah Diddy. But he also topped the charts in 1976 with his cover of the Bruce Springsteen song Blinded By The Light. Manfred Mann's Earth Band was Mann's fourth band. Most of his success was with his first band featuring lead singer Paul Jones. The second band featuring Mike d'Abo was from 1966-69. And the third band Chapter Three was a jazz rock band that didn't have a singer. they only recorded two albums. Manfred Mann's Earth Band was formed in 1971 and after a few albums, it evolved to a more progressive rock style with jazz fusion influences. The band that recorded Blinded By The Light was Mann on keyboards. That's him playing the synthesizers in the video clip. The other founding members still in the band were Colin Pattenden on bass and Chris Slade on drums. The lead singer was Chris Thompson and Dave Flett played guitar. Flett left soon after for Thin Lizzy. Blinded By The Light was a surprise hit because previous albums and singles went nowhere. I guess the main thing was it got them a US deal with Warner Bros. and they toured the US. It turned out to be the Earth Band's only big hit. You can get it along with Mann's 60s hits on this 2CD comp. Mann disbanded this band in 1987. But he continues to tour mostly in Europe. His most recent album was released in 2014. Here's Manfred Mann's Earth Band performing Blinded By The Light on The Midnight Special 1977.
No comments:
Post a Comment