The Stroke

"The Stroke"
Single by Billy Squier
from the album Don't Say No
Released	May 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Hard rock[1]
Length	3:38
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Billy Squier
Producer(s)	Reinhold Mack Billy Squier
Billy Squier singles chronology
"The Stroke" (1981) "In the Dark" (1981)

"The Stroke" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in May 1981 as the debut single from his Triple Platinum album Don't Say No.

This was Squier's first single to chart, reaching No. 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[2] It was a bigger hit on rock radio, reaching No. 3 on the Top Tracks chart. It also reached the UK Singles Chart, rising to No. 52. It was named the 59th best hard rock song of all time' by VH1.^[3]

Chart positions

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4]	3
Canada (CHUM)[5]	6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6]	7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7]	32
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8]	52
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	17
US Billboard Top Tracks[2]	3
US Cash Box[9]	17
US Record World[10]	6

In popular culture

• The song appeared in the films Billy Madison (1995), The Hot Spot (1990), Small Soldiers (1998), Let's Go to Prison (2006), The Curiosity of Chance (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Crank: High Voltage (2009), Larry Crowne (2011) and Jobs (2013).
• The song was also used in the teaser trailer for the film The Expendables 3.
• "The Stroke" was made available for download on October 9, 2012 for Rock Band 3 and Rock Band 3 PRO for use with the real guitar / bass guitar.
• Along with "Everybody Wants You" and "When She Comes To Me", the song was made available for download as of October 8, 2009, for Guitar Hero 5.
• "The Stroke" was sampled in the song "Stroke Me" by Mickey Avalon in 2009, which was also featured in the advertisements for the game Duke Nukem Forever and the film We're the Millers.
• The song was also featured in the pilot episode of The Good Guys.
• The song was sampled in the song "Berzerk" by Eminem on his 2013 album The Marshall Mathers LP 2.^[11]
• The song was used in the Castle episode "Still".
• The song is available for download in Rocksmith 2014.

References

1. Talevski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-8460-9091-2. Later joining Billy Squier's hard rock group in the late Seventies, [Bobby] Chouinard appeared on the hard-rock anthems 'Everybody Wants You', 'In The Dark', and 'The Stroke'.
2. "Billy Squier – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
3. Winistorfer, Andrew (January 5, 2009). "VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list". VH1. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Billy Squier – The Stroke" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
5. CHART NUMBER 1285 – Saturday, August 29, 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 29, 2007). CHUM. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0363." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
7. "Charts.org.nz – Billy Squier – The Stroke". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
8. "Billy Squier: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 22, 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 18, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
10. RECORD WORLD 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 15, 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11. Russell, Alex (August 27, 2013). "Listen: Eminem "Berzerk" (Prod. By Rick Rubin)". Complex. Retrieved August 13, 2014.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics