Songoftheday 6/26/13 - And it's underneath the moonlight passing some, still your heart beats in the moonlight Like a drum...

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - "Runner"
from the album Somewhere In Afrika (US) (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 8

Today's Song of the Day is by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, the British progressive rock group evolved from the 60's British Invasion band named for its leader Manfred Mann. Manfred (his original surname is Lubowitz), a keyboardist born and raised in South Africa, moved to England at the beginning of the 60s. Putting together a group with singer Paul Jones and drummer Mike Hugg, Manfred Mann (the band) got their first break in England with the single "5-4-3-2-1" (the theme to an ITV pop music show Ready Steady Go!) which went to #5 in 1964. Their second EP in the UK, Groovin' With Manfred Mann, came later that year, and with a little "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" they became a worldwide sensation, reaching #1 in the UK, Canada and America.

Manfred Mann went on to have eleven more top-10 hits in Britain, including another two that went to #1 - "Pretty Flamingo" and "Mighty Quinn", the latter written by Bob Dylan and signalling how far their sound has evolved. The band finally disbanded in 1969, with Manfred assembling a new group meant to be more roots-rock based (hence the "Earth Band"). With a progressive edge, the group released their self-titled debut album in 1972, including a minor US hit from the year prior, a cover of Randy Newman's  "Living Without You".

With new lead singer Chris Thompson, the band recorded a couple of covers from then-rising star Bruce Springsteen, and their version of his "Blinded By The Light" became a #1 pop single in the US and Canada (and #6 in England) in 1977. They followed with another Bruce cover, "Spirits In The Night", which went top-40.

While the band's radio success was meager for quite a while, but in 1982 the band recorded a record with Africans playing native instruments. The result, Somewhere In Afrika (inspired by Mann's denial of admittance by the South African government), was a critical success. After that release in Europe, the band recorded a one-off single that would be used for the broadcasts of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. That song, "Runner", was written by Canadian musician Ian Thomas (Santana's "Hold On") and produced by the band. It was a tight, fine piece of accessible mainstream rock that brought the band back to American radio...

"Runner" reached the top-40 on the American and Canadian pop chart in March of 1984, while it would be a huge hit on rock radio, staying at #3 for three weeks.  It would be attached to the American version of the band's Somewhere In Afrika album, and would be their final chart appearance, with their latest album 2006 arriving in 2004. They did manage one more rock hit in the followup US only track "Rebel", which reached #15 on that format.

Up tomorrow: Southern rock heroes return fittingly.