6 degrees from Blinded by the Light
07/11/11 13:11 Filed in: 6 Degrees
Brad Compton was the brother of a family friend, Monte Compton. Monte suggested that Brad would make a good addition to Redhill Road. Brad has a smooth, controlled country style singing voice and joined the band as co-lead singer as well as guitar and banjitar player. He was also a seasoned performer and front man.
Brad had performed from the time he was quite young, and for a few years when in high school and university he played with a group of friends in a band called Freedom Sound. They did high school dances and toured around Ontario a bit. During one of those tours they found themselves on a bill with The Good Brothers. I expect this was when Brad first discovered the song Fox on the Run which became a staple of Redhill Road’s repertoire, but it had been a popular part of the Good’s live shows.
It turned out, though, that Fox on the Run was originally a top 5 chart hit in 1968 in the UK for Manfred Mann, which was hard to believe given that it was such a bluegrass staple. (It was a top 10 hit in North America for Tom T. Hall in the mid 70s.)
The early songs that I remember Manfred Mann for were both #1s in the UK: Doo Wah Diddy Diddy and Pretty Flamingo. But also around the mid 70s (in 1976/77) Manfred Mann’s Earth Band scored a #1 US hit with the Bruce Springsteen song Blinded by the Light, originally recorded on Springsteen’s early album Greetings From Asbury Park NJ.
Brad had performed from the time he was quite young, and for a few years when in high school and university he played with a group of friends in a band called Freedom Sound. They did high school dances and toured around Ontario a bit. During one of those tours they found themselves on a bill with The Good Brothers. I expect this was when Brad first discovered the song Fox on the Run which became a staple of Redhill Road’s repertoire, but it had been a popular part of the Good’s live shows.
It turned out, though, that Fox on the Run was originally a top 5 chart hit in 1968 in the UK for Manfred Mann, which was hard to believe given that it was such a bluegrass staple. (It was a top 10 hit in North America for Tom T. Hall in the mid 70s.)
The early songs that I remember Manfred Mann for were both #1s in the UK: Doo Wah Diddy Diddy and Pretty Flamingo. But also around the mid 70s (in 1976/77) Manfred Mann’s Earth Band scored a #1 US hit with the Bruce Springsteen song Blinded by the Light, originally recorded on Springsteen’s early album Greetings From Asbury Park NJ.
