Wise Up (Amy Grant song)

Infobox Single
Name = Wise Up


Artist = Amy Grant
from Album = Unguarded
Released = 1985
Format =
[ Recorded = ]
Genre = CCM, Adult Contemporary, Pop, Rock
Length = 3:53
Label = A&M Records, Word Records
Writer = Wayne Kirkpatrick, Billy Simon
Producer = Brown Bannister
[ Certification = ]
NoReviews = yes
Last single = Everywhere I Go
(1985)
This single = Wise Up
(1985)
Next single = Sharayah
(1985)"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.

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

Background

The lead single off of "Unguarded" was "Find A Way", a song that not only went #1 on the Christian music charts, 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. In 1986, Grant released her first compilation album, "The Collection". While "Unguarded"'s first two singles made the track list, "Wise Up" did not.

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. 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". [http://www.chonnie.com/amy/remixes3.html]

Chart Success

"Wise Up" was performed very well on Christian radio, landing the #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 #66 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Music Video

Grant released a music video for the song, comprised 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 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmW_JwJjaVg YouTube] .

Charts

References