Which artist originally wrote and recorded "Blinded by the Light"?

"Blinded by the Light" is one of those songs that everyone knows, with its driving beat and lyrics about being "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night" (or whatever you think those words actually are). The version that dominated radio and became a massive hit in 1976 was recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, but it didn't start with them. The original recording came from a completely different artist who wrote the song years earlier. Which artist originally wrote and recorded "Blinded by the Light"?