Some Wake-Up Songs

From Pharmasave

You may have noticed yesterday that I didn't exactly put up a couple of voluminous articles onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus"; it was basically just a Top 10 list and then the APB for Gilbert's mystery song. Well, the reason for that was that I had been preparing for a colonoscopy that took place yesterday afternoon at the local hospital. The procedure itself was as easy as cake but the preparations for it were a bit arduous with me having to glug down the above four litres of PegLyte laxative solution and multiple litres of other fluids within a set amount of time in the day before and the day of the procedure. Mind you, PegLyte wasn't bad taste-wise; it was kinda like a gin cocktail but I had to drink pitchers of the stuff to clean me out.

I was still a tad nervous when I finally faced the procedure and the colonoscopy team including the anesthesiologist plunked me down onto the bed surrounded by doctors and nurses and monitors while I was in that drafty blue gown. The anesthesiologist informed that I wasn't going under a general anesthetic but just something to keep me drowsy so in went the needle, the nurse exposed my bare bottom and the lights went down with only the soothing monitor lights lighting the way. I was feeling like I was going to be seduced. The only thing missing was hearing some Luther Vandro---

OK, sir! You can wake up now. The procedure is over.

Wha...? What the heck?! I was back with the living again which I couldn't believe. When I asked the nurse what time it was, I realized that I was out for 60 minutes but it was like those 60 minutes were completely excised from my memory. And just to emphasize that the procedure was over, there was a huge banner in front of my bed in the recovery bay stating:

YES, YOUR PROCEDURE IS OVER!

Happily, I found out from the doctor that the colonoscopy revealed no signs of cancer and just a couple of polyps that were quickly taken out. After I got dressed, my brother was there in the waiting room to drive me home. My latest medical adventure was over just like that.

Anyways, to commemorate this event and out of a sense of whimsy, I figured some wake-up exhortation songs wouldn't be too bad. And this time, I'm mixing in a couple of the ROY tunes, too. Just for the record, I'm still feeling a bit tired after all of the exertions of yesterday but otherwise I'm not doing too badly.

(1979) Kazuo Zaitsu -- Wake Up

(1983) Van Halen -- Jump

(1984) Robert Armes -- Jump To It

(1985) PSY-S -- Wake Up

(1986) Akina Nakamori -- Desire

Robert Armes -- Jump To It

 

Consider this week's Reminiscings of Youth segment as a successful All-Points Bulletin re-discovery for me as well. What I mean is that I've been searching for this song for literally decades since I used to hear it often on radio without being 100% sure on the title and having forgotten the singer's name.

I was fairly certain that the title was "Jump To It" or something along those lines but when I put it into the various search engines including the one for YouTube, what I usually got was The Pointer Sisters' "Jump (For My Love)" (which is also a ROY entry here), a song that was also released in the same year as my mystery search song. So, the search continued as I wondered whether my ears would ever be reacquainted with this tune that I heard on easy-listening stations such as CHFI-FM.

Then, a few days ago I went over to West Coast 99, a YouTube channel that specializes in AOR and all things Yacht Rock. I was listening to one of the songs there when I saw this name listed in the blurb: Robert Armes. Suddenly my mind went CLICK!💡 Could it be? Well, I put his name and the title once more into the search engine and voila! YouTube channel ATN Records had the song "Jump To It". The melody had always remained in my memory so I could definitely identify it if I heard it again, and sure enough, the above video had it. Another decades-long search has ended happily.

One reason that "Jump To It" kept jumping in my mind was that it was a cool AOR tune because of the saxophone and the keyboards. Plus, I've always imagined flying in a helicopter or a Cessna overlooking Toronto while listening to it (not that I ever would be caught in those contraptions since I have a problem with flying). Anyways, it was a shocker to realize that Armes is as Torontonian as I am; I'd always thought the singer and the song were pure Los Angeles. I've read that the singer-songwriter started out in folk music in the 1970s but this website doesn't really mention this but has Armes himself stating that he has provided music for sports telecasts since music and sports are the two big passions in his life. Not surprisingly, one of those shows is "Hockey Night in Canada".

"Jump To It" is a 1984 song but the month hasn't been specified. Therefore, I will just go with May 1984 to search for any Japanese songs that came out in that month. I'm going to go with the Oricon Top 20 list with Nos. 4, 6 and 12.

4. Off-Course -- Kimi ga, Uso wo, Tsuita（君が、嘘を、ついた）

6. Checkers -- Namida no Request （涙のリクエスト）

12. Meiko Nakahara -- Kimi Tachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne （君たちキウイ・パパヤ・マンゴだね。）