No. 98: Scorpions, ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’– Top 100 Classic Rock Songs
Making an exhaustive list of the non-music places in which the Scorpions’ entry on our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs list, ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane,’ can be heard is difficult.
However, it’s safe to say that when a song is championed by ‘The Simpsons,’ college football teams and a Dave Eggers novel, it has clearly reached pop-culture ubiquity.
Released in 1984, ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ propelled the German metal band’s ‘Love At First Sting’ album into the Billboard Top 10, although the song itself only hit No. 25 on the singles charts.
In terms of ’80s metal classics, however, the tune is the Platonic ideal: a headbanging-worthy repeating riff, gigantic drums, a ripping solo and an indelible refrain—sing it now—‘Here I am / Rock you like a hurricane.’
Although the official video is full of ’80s clichés (women dressed as animals, actual zoo animals, absurd sci-fi flourishes), the campy edge of the music never overshadows the ferocious nature of the song. Heck, ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ even sounds badass when interpreted by an orchestra: Just try to stop yourself from fist-pumping while watching this video of the band performing with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Watch the Scorpions Perform ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’