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about

The title song to a UC Film & Media student project that has never been released, “Rise to the Top” is an anthemic track about a young man’s journey of self-discovery and personal triumph in the underground world of competitive Jenga. Little is known about the musicians that created it – the assumption is that they were probably friends or classmates of the filmmaker, and that the band formed solely to provide the soundtrack. Even less is known about the film itself, and it has achieved urban legend status over the intervening decades. Upon hearing the passionate vocals and blistering guitar work of “Johnny,” however, it isn’t difficult to imagine the uplifting montage of sweaty block-stack training that the song undoubtedly accompanied in the film.

lyrics

word on the street - they never will rest ‘til they’ve broken you
they bring the heat - for you to survive you must keep your cool
now you know there’s no run and no hide
there’s no piece that you cannot slide
you’re the best alive

you’re gonna rise to the top
and be the cream of the crop
don’t you stop
until you’ve beaten them all

they’ll never know how you overcame every obstacle
you feel it grow the need to succeed it’s insatiable
you’re a lion and you’ve got your pride
and you roar with a hunger inside
you’re the best alive

you’re gonna rise to the top
and be the cream of the crop
don’t you stop
until you’ve beaten them all
rise to the top
while all the others drop
you won’t stop
you’ll be standing so tall

all the preps and the jocks knock you down
they don’t understand
you’re the new kid on the blocks
but they don’t know the moves that you’ve got planned
you’ve got the steady hand

you’re gonna rise to the top
and be the cream of the crop
don’t you stop
until you’ve beaten them all
rise to the top
while all the others drop
you won’t stop
you’ll be standing so tall

credits

from Jude Hayden Presents Lost and Gone: Independent Music from Greater Cincinnati 1978​-​88 (Volume 1), released December 5, 2023
lead vocal, all guitars: Mark Brasington

license

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tags

about

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Jude Hayden Cincinnati, Ohio

Father of two, collector of physical media, decent acquaintance

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