Once an artist approves a cover version of their song, they generally have little control over how the final product will sound—something Bruce Springsteen learned the hard way when Manfred Mann recorded their version of “Blinded by the Light.” The song, which turned out to be one of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s biggest hits, was originally a deep cut from Springsteen’s studio debut, Greetings From Asbury Park. N.J.
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Manfred Mann’s version of “Blinded by the Light” topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 after its 1976 release, elevating the English rock band into an international household name. But while the general public proved to be huge fans of the song, Springsteen was a notable exception.
Manfred Mann Guitarist’s Awkward Conversation With Bruce Springsteen
In a 2025 interview with Guitar Player, Manfred Mann Earth Band guitarist Chris Thompson recalled sitting down with Bruce Springsteen at a fondue restaurant to discuss life on the road, their mutual love of Denny’s, and what the Boss thought about the band’s cover of his early deep cut. “I think it was in about 1979, and we were playing Zurich, and [Bruce Springsteen] was playing there, too. We played two nights, and he was playing the night after us. The promoter asked if we wanted to go to dinner with Bruce because we had a day off in between or whatever. I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Members of the Earth Band (sans their frontman, Manfred Mann) settled in at the restaurant with Springsteen and his E Street Band bandmate, Steven Van Zandt. Thompson sat next to Springsteen. After exchanging stories and pleasantries for a while, the guitarist recalled, “I said to him, ‘Bruce, what did you think about “Blinded by the Light?” He took a little while to reply, and he said, ‘What’s the other band that you’re playing in at the moment?’ By this time, I’d begun playing with a band called Night, and we had a hit with our song, “Hot Summer Nights.” So, I said, ‘Oh, you mean “Night?”’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Oh, it’s called “Hot Summer Nights.”’ He said, ‘I like that song.’”
Thompson said that after their dinner in Zurich in the late 1970s, he found out that Springsteen not only wasn’t a fan of their version of “Blinded by the Light” (although he was polite enough to not say that directly at dinner). “He hated it,” Thompson said. “He really disliked it.”
The Boss’ Problem With Their “Blinded by the Light” Cover Is One Of Its Most Defining Characteristics
No matter how detached an artist might get from their original song, a cover version performing better than their own can inevitably create some hard feelings. The same situation happened with Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire,” which proved to be a flop for him but made a huge splash when the Pointer Sisters covered it in 1978. But according to Manfred Mann Earth Band guitarist Chris Thompson, Springsteen’s problem with their version of “Blinded by the Light” wasn’t because of its chart performance. “He was upset that it had ‘douche’ in it,” Thompson explained, “and that we’d actually changed some of the words.”
You likely know the line that Thompson is describing. One of the most commonly misheard lyrics in rock history, most listeners assume the Manfred Mann line is, Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche. In reality, Thompson was singing wrapped up like a deuce. An improperly aligned tape machine led to tape distortion that made the words sound like the famously misunderstood lyric. This engineering mishap, paired with the band changing Springsteen’s original lyric of cut loose like a deuce (Thompson said, “I didn’t really want to sing that, I don’t know why”), was enough to rub Springsteen the wrong way—even decades later.
“I saw Bruce again a couple of years ago,” Thompson said. “He was playing close to where I live in Belgium, so we got together and had a chat. But I couldn’t get him to talk about [the song]. He was very happy to take some photos with me. But I couldn’t get him to talk about it.”
Photo by Isa Foltin/Getty Images for Man Doki Soulmates
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