Blinded by the light...

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It's interesting how things tend to evolve over time. Even something as stalwart as a lighthouse isn't quite the same as it once was. Automated stations, updated lighting technology, things evolve and change, it's just the way of things.

But this post isn't really about lighthouses.

While many times change can be met with fear and apprehension, other times it brings about something that is better than it was before. Of course, whether or not it is actually better is solely up to the person observing it. Music is the same way, adapt or die, that's the way of things in the record business. Some bands are able to accomplish this, other bands simply fall apart. Then of course a small few just keep doing the same thing and somehow seem to make it work.

The Rolling Stones would be a good example of that. Probably one of the 1% that I can actually think of.

This post isn't about staying the same either, it's about changing and adapting. Going into a decade as one thing and coming out as another thing, or better yet, coming out of multiple decades as something else.

I think a really good example of that is the band Starship. They started as Jefferson Airplane, then Jefferson Starship, then just Starship. Of course, this is one of the cases where there might be some argument about whether or not "We Built This City on Rock and Roll" is better than "Miracles" or "White Rabbit". I'm not even going to go there, because this post isn't really about Starship either.

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No, this post is about a little band called that was once called The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers. You are likely more familiar with them as Manfred Mann, which will be the theme for this weeks #threetunetuesday post sponsored by @ablaze.

When I say the name Manfred Mann, many of you probably immediately go to their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light" in 1977 which I referenced in the title of this post. Believe it or not, the history of the band actually stretches all the way back to about 1962 when they were formed out of the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers.

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It's actually kind of funny because despite doing their own original jingles and jazz compositions, the majority of the success from Manfred Mann came from doing covers of songs by other artists. For example, many of you are probably more familiar with this version of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" than you are of the version by the Exciters. I've honestly never even heard of the Exciters, have you? It kind of sounds like an 80's horror movie title.

To be fair though, much of the Beatles early stuff were actually covers of other artists as well, so I guess you can't complain too much. Bob Dylan was a huge source of content for them with the most familiar song (to me anyway) being "Quinn The Eskimo". From 1864 to 1968 they released about 7 albums in the US and one in the UK that didn't make it to the US called As Is.

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It would seem most any genre of music was up for grabs when it came to Manfred Mann doing a cover. "Fox On The Run" is a perfect example of that. Your mind might immediately wander to the song by Sweet, but that's not this song. No, this is a cover of the old bluegrass tune. If you have never heard it, it usually has a bit quicker place and a more choppy delivery than what you are getting in the video above.

It's actually a really good song and I had never heard this version of it until I was doing the research for this post. I actually dig it. If you have heard the original I'd be curious to know what you think of this cover.

Like many bands over the years, members come and go. There were several iterations of Manfred Mann with different members and different names. Eventually, they became Manfred Mann's Earth Band in the US and that's when they really blew up in the US with the cover of "Blinded by the Light".

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Direct Link

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I'm not going to share that song with you though, it would be too easy to share Blinded by the Light with you because most of us are likely already familiar with it. At least I hope you are, if not, maybe do yourself a favor and check it out. Actually, if you do that, listen to the original version of by Bruce Springsteen too, just to get some clarity.

Instead, today I am going to share a different song by Bruce Springsteen that Manfred Mann covered called "Spirits in the Night". The opening of this song actually has a real Atlanta Rhythm Section vibe to me. It's pretty clear how amazing of a song writer Bruce Springsteen was.

I've actually never heard this song before I shared it here today with you. I really dig it and I think it is about time I dug into more Manfred Mann stuff besides the big hits that I have been familiar with in the past. More specifically the Jazz/Blues/Fusion stuff that I have been reading about on their Wiki page.

I'm actually off to do that right now. Cheers!

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My Sports Account - @bozz.sports

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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or @mrsbozz unless otherwise sourced