Strut (Sheena Easton song)

"Strut" is a song recorded by Sheena Easton for her album A Private Heaven (1984). It was released by EMI America in August 1984 as the album's lead single and peaked that November at #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100[1] (its Cash Box peak was #4). "Strut" was composed by singer/songwriter Charlie Dore (who had had a moderate solo hit of her own in the U.S. with "Pilot of the Airwaves" several years prior) and her longtime songwriting partner, Julian Littman.[2]

"Strut"
Single by Sheena Easton
from the album A Private Heaven
B-side"Letters From the Road"
ReleasedAugust 1984
Recorded1984
Genre
Length3:59
Label
  • EMI
  • RT Industries
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Greg Mathieson
Sheena Easton singles chronology
"Back in the City"
(1984)		 "Strut"
(1984)		 "Sugar Walls"
(1985)

Easton had been sent the demo for the song by Christopher Neil who had been Easton's first producer.[3] Like its parent album overall, the "Strut" single and accompanying video signaled Easton's shift towards a more sexually suggestive image.[4]

The song appears to be about the singer being upset with a man for wanting her to be like a previous lover, and about the sexism of men in general for wanting or expecting women to behave in a certain fashion ("Strut, pout/Put it out/That's what you want from women").

"Strut" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 27th Grammy Awards.

In the UK - where "Strut" was released in November 1984 - the track became the first US Top 40 single by Easton to completely miss the Top 100 of the UK charts.

"Strut" was one of two songs performed by Easton at the opening ceremonies of Expo 86 in Vancouver 2 May 1986 (her second song was "For Your Eyes Only").

In 1986 Easton, dressed as a geisha, performed "Strut" in a Japanese TV commercial for shōchū.[5]

Chart performance
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 13
Canada (The Record)[7] 8
Canada (RPM) 7
Germany 21
Japan 72
New Zealand 8
South Africa 18
US Billboard Hot 100 7
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs 6
US Cash Box Top 100 4
Year-end chart (1985)Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[8] 46

References
  1. "Sheena Easton - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  2. "Strut - Sheena Easton". AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  3. The Vindicator 6 May 1985 p.21
  4. Sullivan, Jim (1989-07-21). "Easton's Formulaic Pop Singer Delivers Same Old Fluff". The Boston Globe.
  5. Newsday 14 June 1986 p.5
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide 1975–present. Mississauga: Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  8. "1985 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 97 no. 52. December 28, 1985. p. T-21.
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