The Stroke

{{Infobox song | name = The Stroke | cover = The Stroke (Billy Squier single - cover art).jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Billy Squier | album = Don't Say No | B-side = Two Daze Gone | released = April, 1981 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = *Hard rock<ref>{{cite book |first=Nick |last=Talevski |year=2006 |title=Rock Obituaries – Knocking on Heaven's Door |page=80 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1-8460-9091-2 |quote=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'.}}</ref> *funk rock<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Elliott |title=The Top 20 Greatest Funk Rock Songs |work=TeamRock |date=May 30, 2016 |access-date=January 31, 2017 |url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-05-30/top-20-best-funk-rock-song |url-status=live |archive-date=June 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602202921/http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-05-30/top-20-best-funk-rock-song}}</ref> | length = 3:38 | label = Capitol | writer = William Squier | producer = *Reinhold Mack *Billy Squier | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = In the Dark | next_year = 1981 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|69fPof-ZTnU|"The Stroke‬”}}}} }}

"'''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.<ref name="awards"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=Winistorfer |title=VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list |website=Prefix Magazine |date=January 5, 2009 |access-date=February 7, 2009 |url=http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/}}</ref>

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

==Charts== ===Weekly charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1981) !Peak<br/>position |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="AUS">{{cite web |title=Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s |publisher=Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien |access-date=January 2, 2017 |url=http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275}}</ref> |align="center"|5 |- {{single chart|Austria|3|artist=Billy Squier|song=The Stroke|access-date=August 13, 2014}} |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|7|chartid=0363|access-date=August 13, 2014}} |- {{single chart|New Zealand|32|artist=Billy Squier|song=The Stroke|access-date=August 13, 2014}} |- {{single chart|UK|52|artist=Billy Squier|date=19811004|access-date=August 13, 2014}} |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref name="awards">{{cite web |title=Billy Squier – Awards |website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-squier-mn0000084814/awards |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104174351/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-squier-mn0000084814/awards}}</ref> |align="center"|17 |- |US ''Billboard'' Top Tracks<ref name="awards"/> |align="center"|3 |- |US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite magazine|title= CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 22, 1981 |magazine= Cash Box |url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19810822.html |archive-date= September 18, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120918150032/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19810822.html}}</ref> |align="center"|17 |- |US ''Record World''<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Record World Singles |magazine= Record World |page= 23 |date= August 29, 1981 |access-date= September 9, 2017 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-08-15.pdf}}</ref> |align="center"|6 |}

===Year-end charts=== {|class="wikitable" !Chart (1981) !Rank |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus81">{{cite web |title=National Top 100 Singles for 1981 |publisher=Kent Music Report |issue=393 |page=7 |via=Imgur |date=January 4, 1982 |access-date=January 11, 2022 |url=https://i.imgur.com/RgsDOOc.jpg}}</ref><ref name="AUS"/> |align="center"|41 |- |Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 100 Singles of 1981 |magazine= RPM |volume= 35 |issue= 22 |date= December 26, 1981 |access-date=January 2, 2017 |url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=2543&}}</ref> |align="center"|63 |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100 Hits for 1981 |website= The Longbored Surfer |access-date= January 2, 2017 |url= http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1981}}</ref> |align="center"|76 |}

==In popular culture== *The song was the inspiration for rap artist Maestro Fresh Wes' hit "Let Your Backbone Slide" (1989).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Behind the Vinyl Podcast: Maestro Fresh-Wes, Darby Mills (Headpins), Kim Mitchell on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/maestro-fresh-wes-darby-mills-headpins-kim-mitchell/id1515954590?i=1000508423753 |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-CA}}</ref> *In 1991 the German hard rock band Bonfire released a cover version as a single and on their album ''Knock Out''. *The song is featured in the 1995 film ''Billy Madison'', during the scene where the titular character is seen arriving to school in his Pontiac Firebird. It also appears in the film's closing credits. *In 2007, the song was used in an episode of the Adult Swim series ''Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lucy, Daughter of the Devil – The Music: Episode 8 |date= November 3, 2007 |work= Quick Stop Entertainment |url= http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2007/11/03/lucy-daughter-of-the-devil-the-music-episode-8/ |url-status= usurped |archive-date=January 21, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080121004533/http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2007/11/03/lucy-daughter-of-the-devil-the-music-episode-8/}}</ref> *Also in 2007, the song was used for the character Chazz Michael Michaels' solo figure-skating routine in ''Blades Of Glory''. *Rapper Mickey Avalon samples the song in his 2009 song "Stroke Me".<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |title=Mickey Avalon Goes Big With Travis Barker, Dr. Luke On Second Album |date=October 29, 2009 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |work=MTV.com |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/wpa4xk/mickey-avalon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409114701/https://www.mtv.com/news/wpa4xk/mickey-avalon |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 9, 2024 |quote= 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." }}</ref> *The song was sampled in "Berzerk" by Eminem on his 2013 album ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''.<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Alex |last= Russell |title= Listen: Eminem "Berzerk" (Prod. By Rick Rubin) |magazine= Complex |date= August 27, 2013 |url= http://www.complex.com/music/2013/08/eminem-berzerk |access-date= August 13, 2014}}</ref> *Baseball player Davis Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays uses the song as his walk-up music in the Rogers Centre.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Walk up Database | url=https://walkupdb.com/teams/7 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.songlyrics.com/billy-squier/the-stroke-lyrics/ Lyrics of this song]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroke, The}} Category:1981 songs Category:1981 debut singles Category:Billy Squier songs Category:Capitol Records singles Category:Funk rock songs Category:Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Category:Songs written by Billy Squier