"
Blinded by the Light" is a song written and originally recorded by
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
. It is best known for a #1 hit version recorded by
Manfred Mann's Earth BandManfred Mann's Earth Band is a jazz/rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:The Earth Band's direction was very different from that of Mann's previous group, known simply as Manfred Mann. Mann made a conscious decision to move away from the pop-oriented three-minute format of his...
.
"Blinded by the Light" was the first song on, and first
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
from, Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album
Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. Springsteen's version was initially unsuccessful, and failed to appear on the music charts.
Manfred Mann's Earth BandManfred Mann's Earth Band is a jazz/rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:The Earth Band's direction was very different from that of Mann's previous group, known simply as Manfred Mann. Mann made a conscious decision to move away from the pop-oriented three-minute format of his...
released a version of the song on their album
The Roaring SilenceThe Roaring Silence is an album released in 1976 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Like other Earth Band albums, this includes material by other composers...
.
"
Blinded by the Light" is a song written and originally recorded by
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
. It is best known for a #1 hit version recorded by
Manfred Mann's Earth BandManfred Mann's Earth Band is a jazz/rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:The Earth Band's direction was very different from that of Mann's previous group, known simply as Manfred Mann. Mann made a conscious decision to move away from the pop-oriented three-minute format of his...
.
History
"Blinded by the Light" was the first song on, and first
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
from, Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album
Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. Springsteen's version was initially unsuccessful, and failed to appear on the music charts.
Manfred Mann's Earth BandManfred Mann's Earth Band is a jazz/rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:The Earth Band's direction was very different from that of Mann's previous group, known simply as Manfred Mann. Mann made a conscious decision to move away from the pop-oriented three-minute format of his...
released a version of the song on their album
The Roaring SilenceThe Roaring Silence is an album released in 1976 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Like other Earth Band albums, this includes material by other composers...
. The song reached #1 on
Billboard's Hot 100 on 19 February 1977 and #1 on the Canadian
RPMRPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
chart the same day. The Manfred Mann's Earth Band recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only Number 1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100.
The song is notable for lead vocalist Chris Thompson's garbled enunciation, especially of the phrase "revved up like a deuce" which has led many fans to interpret it as "wrapped up like a
doucheA douche is a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons, or the stream of water itself.Douche usually refers to vaginal irrigation, the rinsing of the vagina, but it can also refer to the rinsing of any body cavity. A douche bag is a piece of equipment...
". The original Springsteen lyric is neither of the above, instead being "cut loose like a deuce". Springsteen once attributed the popularity of the Manfred Mann version partially to Thompson's enunciation.
2000s covers and reissues
In 2002,
DanishDanish people are a nation and ethnic group native to Denmark, who speak Danish. This includes people with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity, whether living in Denmark, emigrants, or the descendants of emigrants, eg: the Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, a former Danish province.The...
act Funkstar Deluxe released its disco version of this song.
Then, in 2007 (April 6), several remixes were released by the German DJ Michael Mind as
Michael Mind featuring Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, adding electronic beats to the major hit of 1977 and rising to number 12 of the German charts.
A
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
version can be found on Springsteen's
Live in DublinBruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin is a 2007 video and audio offering that captures in-concert performances from the Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour recorded in November 2006 at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The release consists of a concert DVD,...
album, recorded with the Sessions Band.
Lil' Wayne sampled this song on his song "Blinded" from his mix tape
The Drought is Over.
Lyrics
Springsteen wrote "Blinded by the Light" after most of the other songs on
Greetings were finished. It is also one of the few songs for which Springsteen wrote the words before arranging the music. The song itself contains many obscure lyrical references such as:
- "Madman drummers bummers" - Vinnie "Mad Dog" Lopez, the first drummer in the E Street Band
The E Street Band is a musical group that has periodically toured and recorded with rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Sting,...
.
- "Indians in the summer" - Bruce's little league baseball team as a child.
- "In the dumps with the mumps" - being sick with the mumps.
- "Boulder on my shoulder" - a "chip" on his shoulder.
- "Some all hot, half-shot, heading for a hot spot, snapping fingers clapping his hands" - Being a "know it all kid growing up, who doesn't really know anything."
External links