I Wanna Rock

"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.

This article is about the song by Twisted Sister. For the song by Snoop Dogg, see I Wanna Rock (Snoop Dogg song).

"I Wanna Rock"
Single by Twisted Sister
from the album Stay Hungry
Released1984
Genre
Length3:02
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Dee Snider
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Twisted Sister singles chronology
"We're Not Gonna Take It"
(1984)		 "I Wanna Rock"
(1984)		 "The Price"
(1985)
Music video
"I Wanna Rock" on YouTube

Music video

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. Here, 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. After the vicious teacher's repeated attempts to stop his rock-loving students not only fail but also backfire on him, he crawls into the principal's office, only to be confronted by the principal, played by Stephen Furst, who played Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in Animal House, alongside Metcalf. Furst reprises one of his lines from the movie: "Oh boy, is this great!", before he sprays water from a seltzer bottle at the teacher.

Chart performance
Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 43
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 44
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 10
Norway (VG-lista)[8] 5
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[9] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 68
US Billboard Top Tracks[10] 35

Reception

In 2009, "I Wanna Rock" was named the 17th-Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1.[11]

References
  1. Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-76034-546-7.
  2. Greenblatt, Leah (January 17, 2015). "Tunes from TV commercials". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  3. "Dee Snider Joins Broadway's 'Rock of Ages'". Billboard. Associated Press. October 1, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  4. Riddle, Tree (April 12, 2012). "Black Veil Brides Perform 'I Wanna Rock' With Dee Snider at 2012 Revolver Golden Gods". Loudwire. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  5. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 3". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9636." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  7. "Charts.nz – Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  8. "Norwegiancharts.com – Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock". VG-lista. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  9. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (T)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  10. "Stay Hungry – Awards". Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  11. 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.
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