The Stroke

For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation).

"The Stroke" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in 1981 as the debut single from his 3× platinum album Don't Say No.

"The Stroke"
Single by Billy Squier
from the album Don't Say No
B-side	"Two Daze Gone"
Released	April, 1981
Genre	Hard rock[1] funk rock[2]
Length	3:38
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	William Squier
Producer(s)	Reinhold Mack Billy Squier
Billy Squier singles chronology
"The Stroke" (1981) "In the Dark" (1981)
Music video
"The Stroke‬” on YouTube

This was Squier's first single to chart (although "In the Dark" charted first at Album Rock), peaking at No. 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100.^[3] It was a much bigger hit on rock radio, hitting No. 3 on the Top Tracks chart. It was Squier's only single released in the UK, where it made #52.

It was named the 59th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[4]

An acoustic blues version, "Stroke Me Blues", was released on his 1998 album Happy Blue.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5]	5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6]	3
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7]	7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8]	32
UK Singles (OCC)[9]	52
US Billboard Hot 100[3]	17
US Billboard Top Tracks[3]	3
US Cash Box Top 100[10]	17
US Record World[11]	6

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12][5]	41
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13]	63
US Billboard Hot 100[14]	76

In popular culture

• The song was sampled in "Berzerk" by Eminem on his 2013 album The Marshall Mathers LP 2.^[15]
• In 2007, the song was used in an episode of the Adult Swim series Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil.^[16]
• The song was the inspiration for the 1989 rap artist Maestro Fresh-Wes hit "Let Your Backbone Slide".^[17]
• Rapper Mickey Avalon samples the song in his 2009 song "Stroke Me".^[18]

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. Elliott, Paul (May 30, 2016). "The Top 20 Greatest Funk Rock Songs". TeamRock. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
3. "Billy Squier – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
4. Winistorfer, Andrew (January 5, 2009). "VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
5. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
6. "Billy Squier – The Stroke" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0363." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
8. "Billy Squier – The Stroke". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
10. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 22, 1981". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012.
11. "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World. August 29, 1981. p. 23. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
12. "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. January 4, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Imgur.
13. "Top 100 Singles of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. December 26, 1981. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
14. "Top 100 Hits for 1981". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
15. Russell, Alex (August 27, 2013). "Listen: Eminem "Berzerk" (Prod. By Rick Rubin)". Complex. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
16. "Lucy, Daughter of the Devil – The Music: Episode 8". Quick Stop Entertainment. November 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
17. "Behind the Vinyl Podcast: Maestro Fresh-Wes, Darby Mills (Headpins), Kim Mitchell on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
18. Kaufman, Gil (October 29, 2009). "Mickey Avalon Goes Big With Travis Barker, Dr. Luke On Second Album". MTV.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024. In the meantime, Avalon has also been dropping songs like the just-released Luke-produced Billy Squier-sampling sex rap "Stroke Me" and "What Do You Say," a hop-along party rhyme that was on the soundtrack to "The Hangover."

External links

• Lyrics of this song