| "I Wanna Rock" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Twisted Sister | ||||
| from the album Stay Hungry | ||||
| Released | October 1984 [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dee Snider | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Werman | |||
| Twisted Sister singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "I Wanna Rock" on YouTube | ||||
"I Wanna Rock" is a song written and composed by Dee Snider and performed by his band Twisted Sister. It was released on the 1984 album Stay Hungry .
Cash Box called the song "an exercise in hard rocking" that doesn't break new ground but "does what it does well." [6] Billboard said that Twisted Sister "strip down their stadium-sized sound to a minimum of power chords and slogan lyrics." [7]
In 2009, "I Wanna Rock" was named the 17th-Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1. [8]
 | This section possibly contains original research .(May 2020) |
Like the earlier "We're Not Gonna Take It", the video features actor Mark Metcalf, best known as the abusive ROTC leader Douglas C. Neidermeyer from the movie National Lampoon's Animal House .
In the video, he plays a teacher with a similar personality to Neidermeyer, who harasses a student for drawing the Twisted Sister logo on one of his textbooks. He chastises the student by shouting, "What kind of a man desecrates a defenseless textbook?! I've got a good mind to slap your fat face!", which echoes a line from Animal House ("What kind of man hits a defenseless animal [a misbehaving horse]? I've got a good mind to smash your fat face in!").
Metcalf's character reprises his question from the "We're Not Gonna Take It" video, "What do you want to do with your life?!" This provides a lead-in for the track, as the student answers with the first line of the song, "I wanna rock!", after which he and four of his classmates are instantly transformed into Twisted Sister's five members.
The abusive teacher's repeated attempts to stop his rock-loving students not only fail; they also backfire on him. He crawls into the school principal's office, only to be confronted by the principal, played by Stephen Furst, who played Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in Animal House, opposite Metcalf. Furst's character, who suddenly approves Twisted Sister and its music, reprises one of his lines from the movie, "Oh boy, is this great!", before he sprays water from a seltzer bottle at the teacher, who collapses in defeat.
"Goofy Goober Rock", a cover of the song with modified lyrics, was performed in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) by voice actor Jim Wise and musician Tom Rothrock. Dee Snider explained the experience of licensing the song for SpongeBob by saying, "Are you kidding me? This is my music. This is my art. How much? They paid me a lot of money. It's called Goofy Goober Rock. God bless 'SpongeBob SquarePants.'" [9] The song was released on the album The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More... . Nerdist ranked "Goofy Goober Rock" as the fourth-best song from the SpongeBob series. [10]
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentina [11] | 4 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [12] | 43 |
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [13] | 44 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14] | 10 |
| Norway (VG-lista) [15] | 5 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio) [16] | 3 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [17] | 10 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [18] | 93 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [19] | 68 |
| US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [20] | 35 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [21] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Daniel Snider is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. The band's song "We're Not Gonna Take It" reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs. Snider later formed and was the lead singer in the heavy metal bands Desperado, Widowmaker, and SMFs. He also released several solo albums. Snider was ranked #83 in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band formed in 1972, originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with music videos noted for their sense of slapstick humor.
Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records in September 1982. It was produced by UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on June 13, 1985. The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of Stay Hungry and, by then, the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016, Eagle Records re-released Under the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored. Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.
Mark Metcalf is an American television and film actor often playing the role of an antagonistic and aggrieved authority figure.
Stay Hungry is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on May 10, 1984, by Atlantic Records. The album contains the band's two signature songs: "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which remain a staple of '80s glam metal and rock. According to RIAA certification, Stay Hungry is the band's most successful release by far and their only platinum album. Eventually, the album achieved multi-platinum status in U.S. with sales of more than 3,000,000 certified copies by 1995.
Love Is for Suckers is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. It was released by Atlantic Records in July 1987. It was the band's last album before their breakup and subsequent reunion and release of Still Hungry in 2004. It is also their last album to be composed of entirely new, original material.
"We're Not Gonna Take It" is a song by American rock band Twisted Sister from their album Stay Hungry. It was first released as a single in May 1984.
Come Out and Play is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released by Atlantic Records on November 22, 1985. The album was significantly less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984), both critically and commercially, although it achieved Gold status by selling more than 500,000 copies.
"Be True to Your School" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as a single on October 28, 1963. There are two versions of this song: the album version, and the single version, which added cheerleader yells by the girl group The Honeys in between verses. The song features the melody of the University of Wisconsin's fight song, "On, Wisconsin!", although it is a tribute to Hawthorne High School, which the Wilson brothers attended. Hawthorne High School's fight song uses the same melody as "On, Wisconsin!".
Still Hungry is an album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 2004. The album is a re-recording of the 1984 album Stay Hungry, with seven bonus tracks. "Never Say Never" and "Blastin' Fast & Loud", were demoed during the original 1984 sessions, completed by the classic line-up in 2001 and recorded for the release of Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars in 2002. "Come Back", "Plastic Money", "You Know I Cry" and "Rock 'n' Roll Saviors" are brand new 2004 studio tracks. "Heroes Are Hard to Find" was originally recorded and released in 1998 by the reunited band for the soundtrack of Strangeland, a horror movie written by and starring frontman Dee Snider based on the character Captain Howdy from "Horror-Teria".
"Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a popular cultural example of a "teenage tragedy song". The song was covered in 1985 by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who had a more modest hit with their version.
You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in April 1983 in the UK and on June 17, 1983 in the US.
A Twisted Christmas is the sixth and final studio album by American heavy metal group Twisted Sister, with the band releasing it on October 17, 2006. The album features classic Christmas songs performed in metal versions, often featuring lyrical changes.
Live at Hammersmith is a live album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on October 3, 1994. It was recorded on June 15, 1984, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England.
SpongeBob's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album for the tenth anniversary of the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The album was released on February 24, 2009, in conjunction with the year-long celebration of the show's tenth anniversary. The album features many songs released on previous albums, and many featured in the show.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More... is the soundtrack to the 2004 animated film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and second soundtrack album focused on the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. It was released on November 9, 2004 by Sire Records and Nick Records.
"The Price" is a song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 1984 as the third and final single from their third studio album, Stay Hungry. The song was written by Dee Snider and produced by Tom Werman. "The Price" failed to reach the US Billboard Hot 100, stalling at number 8 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in January 1985.
Blood and Bullets is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Widowmaker, released on July 28, 1992.
"I Am (I'm Me)" is a song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 1983 as the lead single from their second studio album, You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. The song was written by Dee Snider and produced by Stuart Epps. "I Am (I'm Me)" was Twisted Sister's first chart hit, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. It was their highest-charting entry in the UK and remained in the top 75 for nine weeks.
"The Kids Are Back" is a song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 1983 as the second single from their second studio album, You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. The song was written by Dee Snider and produced by Stuart Epps. "The Kids Are Back" was Twisted Sister's second chart hit, reaching number 32 in the UK Singles Chart and remaining in the top 75 for six weeks.
