Tall, Dark, Handsome Stranger is a song written by Holly Knight

Holly Knight

Holly Knight is a songwriter, vocalist and musician of pop and rock music.- Biography :She was born in New York City and started playing classical piano as a young child. She soon became interested in rock music, and left home at about sixteen to pursue her dreams...

 and Albert Hammond

Albert Hammond

Albert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...

, performed by the rock band, Heart

Heart (band)

Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...

, for their 1990 album, Brigade

Brigade (album)

Brigade is the tenth studio album, eleventh overall, released by the popular rock/pop band Heart. Released in 1990 after a three-year gap between albums, the album featured the #2 Billboard Hot 100 hit "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" and reached number three on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was...

. In the song's lyrics, a woman describes how she's so sick and tired of men trying to act cool

Cool (aesthetic)

Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...

and pretending to be everything a woman might want. The chorus is directed toward a man who is different from those in her past:

I've had the tall, dark, handsome, stranger

I've had the devil in disguise

I've been attracted to the danger

I was never satisfied

I know what I want and I want what I see in your eyes

This song demonstrates possibly more than any other the power of Ann Wilson's voice. Her high notes maintain the same power as her lower range, though providing the kick and grind that shows listeners how Rock and Roll really was Heart's forte.

Chart performance

Chart (1990)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart	24