Wise Up (Amy Grant song)

Last updated
"Wise Up"
Amy Grant - Wise Up.jpg
Single by Amy Grant
from the album Unguarded
Released1985
Genre CCM, Pop
Length3:53
Label A&M, Word Records
Songwriter(s) Wayne Kirkpatrick, Billy Simon
Producer(s) Brown Bannister
Amy Grant singles chronology
"Everywhere I Go"
(1985)
"Wise Up"
(1985)
"Sharayah"
(1985)
Music video
"Wise Up" on YouTube

"Wise Up" is a 1985 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the third single from her Unguarded album. The song reached The Billboard 100, as well as the Adult Contemporary and Christian music charts in the United States.

Contents

"Wise Up" is an uptempo, inspirational song with a rock sound, featuring heavy percussion and guitars. The lyric "better use your head to guard your heart" may be a reference to the album's title, Unguarded . That lyric essentially summarizes the song's central theme.

Background

The lead single from Unguarded was "Find a Way", a song that not only went No. 1 on the Christian music chart, but also gave Grant her first-ever hit on pop radio (making it the first Contemporary Christian music song to chart on pop radio as well). "Wise Up" and the single that came before it, "Everywhere I Go", capitalized on Grant's newfound mainstream success and were released to both Christian and mainstream pop radio.

Grant had previewed the song on the 1984 "Straight Ahead Tour" while the song was still being developed. Its album version was substantially different. During the 1988-89 Lead Me On Tour, Grant performed an updated rendition of "Wise Up" as a regular part of her set list. Since then, the artist has frequently included the song with an updated arrangement in her concerts, including a deep bass version on the "Heart in Motion Tour" and an acoustic rendering with a vintage slide guitar on the "House of Love Tour." The song was also given a "Big Beats" dance remix, which featured, among other things, additional sound effects and Grant repeating the phrase "Pack 'em up, move 'em out". [1]

Chart performance

"Wise Up" performed very well on Christian radio, landing the No. 2 spot on the Christian music charts in the U.S. On mainstream radio, "Wise Up" didn't rise as high as "Find a Way", but performed slightly better than the previous single, "Everywhere I Go". The single peaked at No. 66 on The Billboard Hot 100 and No. 34 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Music video

Grant released a music video for the song, composed of footage from her successful Unguarded tour. In the video, Grant dons the famous leopard skin jacket that is pictured on the cover of Unguarded. Because of the jacket's appearance on the album cover and the music video, as well as Grant's tendency to wear it on television appearances, in concert, and on the Grammy Awards telecast, the jacket became a signature emblem for Grant during the 1980s.

The music video was released on Grant's Find a Way VHS. That release, along with Grant's Old-Fashioned Christmas TV special and VHS release, are among the only available footage from the Unguarded tour. The music video has not yet been released to DVD, but it can be viewed on YouTube.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1985)Peak
position
Billboard Christian2
Adult Contemporary34
Billboard Hot 10066

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Grant</span> American singer-songwriter, musician (born 1960)

Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop".

<i>Unguarded</i> (Amy Grant album) 1985 studio album by Amy Grant

Unguarded is the seventh studio album by Christian and Pop singer Amy Grant, released in 1985 on A&M Records. It is Grant's first album released by A&M.

<i>Lead Me On</i> (Amy Grant album) 1988 studio album by Amy Grant

Lead Me On is the eighth studio album by Christian music singer-songwriter Amy Grant, released in 1988 through A&M Recordings.

<i>Behind the Eyes</i> (Amy Grant album) 1997 studio album by Amy Grant

Behind the Eyes is the twelfth studio album by Christian music and pop music singer Amy Grant, released in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Find a Way (Amy Grant song)</span> 1985 single by Amy Grant

"Find a Way" is a 1985 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the first single from her Unguarded album. Also, "Find a Way" was Grant's first major single release, as it was issued in mainstream (non-religious) popular outlets by A&M Records along with the album. Although the single was released in both the United States and the United Kingdom with "It's Not a Song" as a B-side, it only charted in America.

<i>Love Beyond Reason</i> 1985 studio album by Randy Stonehill

Love Beyond Reason is an album by Randy Stonehill, released in 1985, on Myrrh Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stay for Awhile</span> 1986 single by Amy Grant


"Stay for Awhile" is a 1986 single by Christian singer Amy Grant, and was the first single from her album The Collection. Background vocals were provided by herself and her friend, Richard Page, lead singer for Mr. Mister at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky One (Amy Grant song)</span> 1994 single by Amy Grant

"Lucky One" is a single by American Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the first single from her 11th studio album, House of Love (1994), in August 1994. The song reached number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Grant her last US top-20 hit. It also peaked at number four in Canada and reached the top 75 in Germany and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Love (Amy Grant song)</span> 1994 single by Amy Grant

"House of Love" is a song by American Christian music singer Amy Grant, recorded as a duet with country singer Vince Gill. It was released in November 1994 as the second single from her House of Love album in the United States and the fourth and final single from the album in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say You'll Be Mine (Amy Grant song)</span> 1994 single by Amy Grant

"Say You'll Be Mine" is a song by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the second single from her 11th studio album, House of Love, in the United Kingdom in October 1994. Unlike the previous singles from House of Love, "Say You'll Be Mine" was not released in the United States. On her 2004 DVD release, Greatest Videos 1986-2004, Grant revealed that "Say You'll Be Mine" was planned as a US single, but the label pulled its release at the last minute. On the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 41.

"Everywhere I Go" is a 1985 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the second single from her Unguarded album. Unlike "Find a Way" before it and "Wise Up" after it, the song failed to reach The Billboard Hot 100. However, the song did make the Adult Contemporary and Christian music charts in the United States.

"What About the Love" is a song written by Kye Fleming & Janis Ian and released as a 1988 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the fourth single from Grant's Lead Me On album. Unlike some of Grant's previous singles, this song was released to Christian radio only and was not marketed to pop or "mainstream" radio.

"Say Once More" is a 1988 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the fifth single from Grant's Lead Me On album. Unlike some of Grant's previous singles, this song made an impact on Christian radio but not on pop or "mainstream" radio.

"Faithless Heart" is a 1988 single by Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the sixth and final single from Grant's very successful Lead Me On album. Unlike some of Grant's previous singles, this song made a sales and airplay impact on Christian radio but not on pop or "mainstream" radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hope Set High</span> 1991 single by Amy Grant

"Hope Set High" is a 1991 song by American Christian music singer Amy Grant. It was released as the second single from the Heart In Motion album, and the first from the album released to Christian radio.

<i>Better Day</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Dolly Parton

Better Day is the forty-third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on June 28, 2011, by Dolly Records and Warner Music Nashville. The album was produced by Parton and Kent Wells. To promote the album, Parton embarked on her Better Day World Tour. With 49 shows, the tour visited North America, Europe, and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyes Open (song)</span> 2012 single by Taylor Swift

"Eyes Open" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for The Hunger Games movie soundtrack, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond, though the song is not included in the film itself. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, it was released as the second single from the album and was sent to mainstream radio on March 27, 2012. A lyric video consisting of animation was released on Vevo in May 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Ga Ga</span> 1984 single by Queen

"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album The Works and is also featured on the band's compilation albums Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen.

<i>Always</i> (Chris Tomlin album) 2022 studio album by Chris Tomlin

Always is the fourteenth solo studio album by American contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin. It was released on September 9, 2022, through Sparrow Records and Capitol CMG. The album features guest appearances by Elevation Worship, Steffany Gretzinger, and Brandon Lake. The album was produced by Ben Glover, Jeff Sojka, Ed Cash, Jonathan Smith, Dave Haywood, Ben West, and Bryan Fowler.

<i>This Years Model</i> (Imperials album) 1987 studio album by The Imperials

This Year's Model is the 32nd studio album by Christian music vocal group The Imperials, released in 1987 on Myrrh Records. This is the first album to feature new members Jimmie Lee Sloas and Ron Hemby, replacing long-time tenor Jim Murray and lead singer Paul Smith. It was a change in direction as This Year's Model's sound was more rock-oriented alienating long-time fans of the Imperials' four-part harmony of their early years. The track "Power of God" became a theme song for Christian bodybuilders the Power Team and new younger fans began to come to Imperials concerts. Production duties were done by Brown Bannister, who produced their previous album Let the Wind Blow (1985) with songwriting contributions from fellow CCM acts Pam Mark Hall, Chris Eaton and Paul Smith who co-wrote the lead single "Wings of Love". This Year's Model peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.

References

  1. "Amy Grant Media Gallery - Singles and Remixes". Chonnie.com. Retrieved 2012-03-15.