Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. the pre-Christmas crush. Both "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night" were released as singles by Columbia, but neither reached the U.S. charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of "Blinded by the Light" on their album "The Roaring Silence", which reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 on 19 February 1977 and #1 on the Canadian RPM chart the same day. This recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only number one single as a songwriter on the Hot 100. His best showing on the Hot 100 as a performer was in 1984, with "Dancing
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Guide to Rock" (2002), William Ruhlmann gave "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." five stars and said that it combined the mid-1960s folk rock music of Bob Dylan, accessible melodies, and elaborate arrangements and lyrics: ""Asbury Park" painted a portrait of teenagers cocksure of themselves, yet bowled over by their discovery of the world. It was saved from pretentiousness (if not preciousness) by its sense of humor and by the careful eye for detail ... that kept even the most high-flown language rooted." In 2003, the album was ranked number 379 on "Rolling Stone"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s list of the 500 greatest albums of