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Cover of Don’t Say No by Billy Squier
Cover: Don’t Say No

Song · Billy Squier

“The Stroke” by Billy Squier

From the album Don’t Say No (1981)

“The Stroke” by Billy Squier appears on 88 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1981 and 2026. It was first released in 1981 on the album Don’t Say No. Its best result is #7 on the KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #100 alternative song of 1981.

88countdowns
29stations
#7best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1981–2026years charted

Watch

Billy Squier - The Stroke

Video from YouTube (Official Billy Squier). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"The Stroke" was the opening shot from Billy Squier's 1981 album Don't Say No, and it hits like a sledgehammer wrapped in velvet: Bobby Chouinard's drums stomp out a huge, lurching beat, Squier's guitar snarls over the top, and Mark Clarke and Alan St. Jon pile on the backing vocals. Squier wrote it alone and produced it with Mack for Capitol, and there isn't an ounce of fat on it.

Plenty of listeners heard a come-on, but the song is really a jab at the music business and the way it flatters musicians' egos to keep them playing along. It was his first single to chart, and it did even better on rock radio than on the pop side; in Britain it was the only single he ever put out. VH1 later ranked it 59th among the best hard rock songs of all time, and Squier revisited it as the acoustic "Stroke Me Blues" on his 1998 album Happy Blue.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1981 100 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 106
1981 7 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981 25

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 494 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 580 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 373 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 411 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1998 346 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 274 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2002 903 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 773 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 288 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 774 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 421 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 678 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 429 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 694 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 262 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2013 431 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 368 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 377 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 198 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 266 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 473 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 551 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 125 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 473 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 198 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 198 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 332 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 385 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 49 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2016 317 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 130 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 183 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 461 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 116 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 460 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 116 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 185 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 85 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 267 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 603 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 116 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2020 143 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 169 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 233 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 115 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 646 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 259 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 154 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 428 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 269 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 604 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 394 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 367 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2022 420 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 136 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 179 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 144 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 93 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 708 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 96 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 209 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 354 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2023 828 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 742 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 61 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 55 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 289 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 96 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 128 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 304 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 177 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2024 186 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 1019 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 39 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 248 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 355 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 126 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 116 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2025 178 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 230 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 183 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 117 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 122 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 141 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 228 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 292 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1981

Best songs of 1981 →
  1. 1Start Me UpThe Rolling Stones
  2. 2Tom SawyerRush
  3. 3I Love Rock-N-RollJoan Jett
  4. 4Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicThe Police
  5. 5Jukebox HeroForeigner
  6. 6For Those About to RockAC/DC

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