The Stroke

"The Stroke"
Single by Billy Squier
from the album Don't Say No
B-side"Two Daze Gone"
ReleasedApril, 1981
Genre
Length3:38
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)William Squier
Producer(s)
Billy Squier singles chronology
"The Stroke"
(1981)
"In the Dark"
(1981)
Music video
"The Stroke‬” on YouTube

"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.

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. This was Squier's sole British entry, only making #52 in the United Kingdom.

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

An acoustic blues version, titled 'Stroke Me Blues', was later recorded and released by Squier on his 1998 album Happy Blue.

  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. ^ Cite error: The named reference awards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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.