Billy Squier
Encyclopedia
William Haislip "Billy" Squier (born May 12, 1950) is an American rock
musician
. Squier had a string of arena rock
hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke
" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No
. Other hits include "In the Dark
", "Rock Me Tonite
", "Lonely Is the Night
", "My Kinda Lover", "Everybody Wants You
", "All Night Long" and "Emotions in Motion
".
. He is a 1968 graduate of Wellesley High School. While growing up, he began playing piano and guitar, but did not become serious with music until discovering Eric Clapton
. When Squier was nine, his grandfather taught him how to play the piano. He took lessons from his grandfather for two years. After he stopped taking piano lessons, he became interested in guitar and bought one from a neighbor for $95. Squier took guitar lessons for a couple of months until he decided to teach himself.
nightclub in Kenmore Square called the Psychedelic Supermarket in 1968 which is where he saw Eric Clapton and the band Cream
perform. Squier originally performed with the band Magic Terry & The Universe, which also included Klaus Flouride
, who went on to play with the Dead Kennedys
. In the early 1970s, he joined The Sidewinders, and played with members including Mike Reed, Alex Phillips, Henry Stern, and Bryan Chase. Squier left the group to form the band Piper, which released two album
s in the mid '70s, Piper and Can't Wait, but broke off soon after. Bruce Kulick of KISS
fame played with him during this period also. Upon reviewing the debut Piper, Circus
Magazine touted it as the greatest debut album ever produced by an American rock band. Piper was managed by the same management company as KISS, and opened for KISS during their 1977 tour, including the second and third nights of a three-night, sold-out run at New York's Madison Square Garden
.
Squier signed with Capitol Records
to release his solo debut in 1980. Tale of the Tape
was a minor hit, partly because Squier played a mixture of pop
and rock, which earned him a large crossover audience. The song "You Should Be High Love" received a fair amount of play on album rock stations, but no single cracked the pop charts. Years later, the song "The Big Beat" was sampled in rap songs.
Squier asked Brian May
of Queen
to produce his second album Don't Say No
. May declined due to scheduling conflicts, but he recommended instead Reinhold Mack
who had produced one of Queen's albums, The Game
. Squier agreed, and Mack went on to produce Don't Say No. The album became a smash, with the lead single "The Stroke
" becoming a hit all around the world, hitting the Top 20 in the US and topping the singles chart in Australia. "In The Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" were successful follow-up singles. Squier became a monster act on the new MTV cable channel as well as on Album Rock radio, with most tracks on the Don't Say No album receiving airplay. Don't Say No reached the Top 5 and lasted well over two years on Billboard
s album chart, eventually selling over 4 million copies in the US alone.
, was released in 1982 and became nearly as successful as Don't Say No. The album also climbed into Billboards Top 5 and sold just under 3 million copies in the US alone. The cover art was by Andy Warhol
. The title track of the album, on which Squier shared vocals with Queen
's frontman Freddie Mercury
and drummer Roger Taylor
, was a hit, but the album's biggest hit was "Everybody Wants You" which held the #1 spot on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks for 6 weeks and reached #32 on the Hot 100. That same year, he recorded a song, "Fast Times (The Best Years of Our Lives)" for the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High
. In the early 1980s Squier did several headlining arena tours—most notably with Foreigner
and Def Leppard
-- as opening act, with a backup band that included former Savage
frontman Kevin Osborn on guitar.
Two years passed before Squier's next album Signs of Life
. It was his third consecutive Platinum album. The album's first single release, "Rock Me Tonite" was Squier's biggest Pop hit. It reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100, as well as #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in late 1984. However, the video for the track (directed by Kenny Ortega
), which shows Squier dancing around a bedroom in a pink tank top, was named by Video GaGa as one of "The worst videos of all time". On the VH1 show Ultimate Albums (Def Leppard's "Pyromania
" episode), Squier blamed the end of his career as a chart-topping rocker on the release of the "Rock Me Tonite" video.
Squier's career took a major downturn afterward and he began playing smaller venues. His next two albums Enough is Enough
(1986) and Hear & Now
(1989) sold in the neighborhood of 300,000 copies each. Enough is Enough featured another collaboration with Freddie Mercury in the songs "Love Is The Hero" and "Lady With A Tenor Sax".
in 1989, which featured the singles "Don't Say You Love Me" (which peaked at #4 on the Billboard
Mainstream Rock chart) and "Tied Up".
In 1991, Squier released Creatures of Habit, which yielded only one single, "She Goes Down," which also peaked at #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The title of the track refers to oral sex
, and the music video
is a very rare item, mainly because it features nude females and sexual metaphors throughout.
Squier released his final album with Capitol Records
in 1993, Tell the Truth, which featured different sets of musicians performing the various tracks. Squier called it his finest album since Don't Say No
, yet Capitol did little to promote it, and Squier walked away from the music business to pursue other endeavors.
On February 17, 1998, during the second run of the play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God
- a monodrama
about the life of Freddie Mercury - Squier debuted a song that he wrote in memory of his friend titled "I Have Watched You Fly". He introduced the song by saying, "I knew Freddie as a friend. I'm honored to share the stage with him in the afterlife."
In 1998, Squier released his last studio album to date on an independent label, a solo acoustic blues effort entitled Happy Blue. He embarked on a mini-tour to showcase songs from the album, which included a stripped-down acoustic version of his classic rock
mega-hit, "The Stroke
."
As time passed, his albums went out of print, save Don't Say No
and some greatest hits compilations; however, many of these are now being reprinted.
Shout! Factory will release Don't Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition on July 27, 2010, marking the first time that this album as been remastered in over 20 years. It was released in collaboration with Squier, who provided two live bonus cuts from his personal collection.
and New York hard rock radio icon Eddie Trunk
introduced Squier that night as "one of the great singer/songwriters in the history of rock."
Squier now lives in New York's Upper West Side. Sampling of "The Big Beat" continues. The late Jam Master Jay's reference to the song as a classic beat in the early days of hip hop has paid great dividends for Squier. The three piece hip hop group performed a track live at The Funhouse
entitled "Here We Go", using the song's backbeat. Jay Z's "99 Problems
," a massive hit in 2003, is based on that beat, as well as British grime/hip-hop MC Dizzee Rascal
's "Fix Up, Look Sharp
" and Kanye West
's "Addiction".
In 2004 "Everybody Wants You
" was remixed with the group Fischerspooner
's song "Emerge
" and included on the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" soundtrack.
In 2006, Squier joined Richard Marx
, Edgar Winter
, Rod Argent
, and Sheila E touring with Ringo Starr
& His All Starr Band. A documentary of the tour including a full-length concert performance is now available on DVD.
In 2008, Squier joined Colin Hay
, Edgar Winter
, Gary Wright
, Hamish Stuart
and Gregg Bissonette
touring with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
.
In 2009, Squier launched a nation-wide summer/fall tour with a band that included drummer Nir Z, guitarist Marc Copely
, long-time bassist Mark Clarke and keyboard player Alan St. Jon.
and an apartment in the famous San Remo
on Central Park West
in Manhattan
. Billy Squier is an active volunteer for the Central Park Conservancy, doing the hands-on "dirty work" by maintaining 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the park, as well as promoting the Conservancy in articles and interviews. He also supports the Group for the East End and its native planting programs on eastern Long Island. Squier is a supporter of the Republican Party
and supported John McCain
in the 2008 presidential election.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Squier had a string of arena rock
Arena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke
The Stroke
"The Stroke" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in May 1981 as the debut single from his 1981 album Don't Say No....
" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No
Don't Say No
-Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead...
. Other hits include "In the Dark
In the Dark (Billy Squier song)
"In the Dark" is the title of a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1981 album Don't Say No, and was released as the second single from that album, following "The Stroke". It reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", "Rock Me Tonite
Rock Me Tonite
"Rock Me Tonite" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from the album Signs of Life. The song is his highest charting U.S...
", "Lonely Is the Night
Lonely Is the Night
"Lonely Is the Night" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the sixth song on his 1981 album Don't Say No and become a rock radio hit, reaching number 28 on Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1981.Squier has performed "Lonely...
", "My Kinda Lover", "Everybody Wants You
Everybody Wants You
"Everybody Wants You" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1982 album Emotions in Motion, and was released as the first single from that album, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
", "All Night Long" and "Emotions in Motion
Emotions In Motion
Emotions in Motion is the third album by rock musician Billy Squier. It was released on July 23, 1982, and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It contains the hit song "Everybody Wants You", which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and held at #1 on the Mainstream Rock...
".
Early life
Squier was born in Wellesley, MassachusettsWellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
. He is a 1968 graduate of Wellesley High School. While growing up, he began playing piano and guitar, but did not become serious with music until discovering Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. When Squier was nine, his grandfather taught him how to play the piano. He took lessons from his grandfather for two years. After he stopped taking piano lessons, he became interested in guitar and bought one from a neighbor for $95. Squier took guitar lessons for a couple of months until he decided to teach himself.
Early career
Billy Squier's first public performance was at a BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
nightclub in Kenmore Square called the Psychedelic Supermarket in 1968 which is where he saw Eric Clapton and the band Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
perform. Squier originally performed with the band Magic Terry & The Universe, which also included Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride
Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
, who went on to play with the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
. In the early 1970s, he joined The Sidewinders, and played with members including Mike Reed, Alex Phillips, Henry Stern, and Bryan Chase. Squier left the group to form the band Piper, which released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s in the mid '70s, Piper and Can't Wait, but broke off soon after. Bruce Kulick of KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
fame played with him during this period also. Upon reviewing the debut Piper, Circus
Circus (magazine)
Circus was a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. It was published from 1966 to 2006. In its heyday the magazine had a full-time editorial staff that included some of the biggest names in rock journalism, including Paul Nelson, David Fricke, and Kurt Loder, and rivaled Rolling Stone in...
Magazine touted it as the greatest debut album ever produced by an American rock band. Piper was managed by the same management company as KISS, and opened for KISS during their 1977 tour, including the second and third nights of a three-night, sold-out run at New York's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
Squier signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
to release his solo debut in 1980. Tale of the Tape
Tale of the Tape
The Tale of the Tape is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released in 1980. It was his first solo album, following two albums with the band Piper...
was a minor hit, partly because Squier played a mixture of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock, which earned him a large crossover audience. The song "You Should Be High Love" received a fair amount of play on album rock stations, but no single cracked the pop charts. Years later, the song "The Big Beat" was sampled in rap songs.
Squier asked Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
to produce his second album Don't Say No
Don't Say No
-Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead...
. May declined due to scheduling conflicts, but he recommended instead Reinhold Mack
Reinhold Mack
Reinhold Mack is a German record producer and sound engineer, mostly known for his collaborations with rock bands Electric Light Orchestra and Queen. Most of this work took place at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich...
who had produced one of Queen's albums, The Game
The Game (Queen album)
The Game is the eighth studio album by British rock band Queen released on 30 June 1980. It was the only Queen album to reach #1 in the US and became Queen's best selling studio album in the US with four million copies sold to date, tying News of the Worlds US sales tally. The album received very...
. Squier agreed, and Mack went on to produce Don't Say No. The album became a smash, with the lead single "The Stroke
The Stroke
"The Stroke" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in May 1981 as the debut single from his 1981 album Don't Say No....
" becoming a hit all around the world, hitting the Top 20 in the US and topping the singles chart in Australia. "In The Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" were successful follow-up singles. Squier became a monster act on the new MTV cable channel as well as on Album Rock radio, with most tracks on the Don't Say No album receiving airplay. Don't Say No reached the Top 5 and lasted well over two years on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s album chart, eventually selling over 4 million copies in the US alone.
1980s Peak
Billy Squier's third album for Capitol, Emotions in MotionEmotions In Motion
Emotions in Motion is the third album by rock musician Billy Squier. It was released on July 23, 1982, and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It contains the hit song "Everybody Wants You", which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and held at #1 on the Mainstream Rock...
, was released in 1982 and became nearly as successful as Don't Say No. The album also climbed into Billboards Top 5 and sold just under 3 million copies in the US alone. The cover art was by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. The title track of the album, on which Squier shared vocals with Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's frontman Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
and drummer Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, was a hit, but the album's biggest hit was "Everybody Wants You" which held the #1 spot on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks for 6 weeks and reached #32 on the Hot 100. That same year, he recorded a song, "Fast Times (The Best Years of Our Lives)" for the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
. In the early 1980s Squier did several headlining arena tours—most notably with Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
and Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
-- as opening act, with a backup band that included former Savage
Savage (band)
Savage was a heavy metal band from Mansfield, England.The band is most remembered for the song titled "Let it Loose", a track which made significant impact on the early 1980s metal scene, and would later give rise to the name of their first album, Loose 'N Lethal, released in 1983 and nowadays...
frontman Kevin Osborn on guitar.
Two years passed before Squier's next album Signs of Life
Signs of Life (Billy Squier album)
Signs Of Life is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released in 1984. The album features Squier's Top 15 hit, "Rock Me Tonite".- Reception :Signs of Life did not sell as well as previous albums, reaching only #11 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart...
. It was his third consecutive Platinum album. The album's first single release, "Rock Me Tonite" was Squier's biggest Pop hit. It reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100, as well as #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in late 1984. However, the video for the track (directed by Kenny Ortega
Kenny Ortega
Kenneth John "Kenny" Ortega is an American producer, director, and choreographer. He is known for directing the High School Musical trilogy and Michael Jackson's This Is It concert tour.-Life and career:...
), which shows Squier dancing around a bedroom in a pink tank top, was named by Video GaGa as one of "The worst videos of all time". On the VH1 show Ultimate Albums (Def Leppard's "Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
" episode), Squier blamed the end of his career as a chart-topping rocker on the release of the "Rock Me Tonite" video.
Squier's career took a major downturn afterward and he began playing smaller venues. His next two albums Enough is Enough
Enough Is Enough (album)
Enough Is Enough is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released on September 27, 1986. It peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart.-Track listing:# "Shot o' Love" - 4:06# "Love Is the Hero" - 4:49...
(1986) and Hear & Now
Hear & Now
Hear & Now is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released on June 14, 1989. Although his previous album, Enough Is Enough was marginally more successful, this album charted three singles...
(1989) sold in the neighborhood of 300,000 copies each. Enough is Enough featured another collaboration with Freddie Mercury in the songs "Love Is The Hero" and "Lady With A Tenor Sax".
Later years
Squier continued to rock throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He released Hear & NowHear & Now
Hear & Now is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released on June 14, 1989. Although his previous album, Enough Is Enough was marginally more successful, this album charted three singles...
in 1989, which featured the singles "Don't Say You Love Me" (which peaked at #4 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Mainstream Rock chart) and "Tied Up".
In 1991, Squier released Creatures of Habit, which yielded only one single, "She Goes Down," which also peaked at #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The title of the track refers to oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
, and the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
is a very rare item, mainly because it features nude females and sexual metaphors throughout.
Squier released his final album with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1993, Tell the Truth, which featured different sets of musicians performing the various tracks. Squier called it his finest album since Don't Say No
Don't Say No
-Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead...
, yet Capitol did little to promote it, and Squier walked away from the music business to pursue other endeavors.
On February 17, 1998, during the second run of the play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God
Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God
Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God is a monodrama written by Charles Messina about the life and death of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury...
- a monodrama
Monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.- Monodrama in opera :...
about the life of Freddie Mercury - Squier debuted a song that he wrote in memory of his friend titled "I Have Watched You Fly". He introduced the song by saying, "I knew Freddie as a friend. I'm honored to share the stage with him in the afterlife."
In 1998, Squier released his last studio album to date on an independent label, a solo acoustic blues effort entitled Happy Blue. He embarked on a mini-tour to showcase songs from the album, which included a stripped-down acoustic version of his classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
mega-hit, "The Stroke
The Stroke
"The Stroke" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in May 1981 as the debut single from his 1981 album Don't Say No....
."
As time passed, his albums went out of print, save Don't Say No
Don't Say No
-Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead...
and some greatest hits compilations; however, many of these are now being reprinted.
Shout! Factory will release Don't Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition on July 27, 2010, marking the first time that this album as been remastered in over 20 years. It was released in collaboration with Squier, who provided two live bonus cuts from his personal collection.
Other activity
Squier played a special acoustic show at B.B. King's in New York City on November 30, 2005. Highlights of the show were acoustic versions of "Everybody Wants You", "Nobody Knows", "Learn How to Live", "The Stroke", "Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You", and most of the 1998 Happy Blue CD. VH1 ClassicVH1 Classic
VH1 Classic is a television network, launched on May 8, 2000. It is operated as part of MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom and primarily features music videos and concert footage from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, though it formerly included a wider range of genres and time periods...
and New York hard rock radio icon Eddie Trunk
Eddie Trunk
Eddie Trunk is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author best known as the host of several hard rock and heavy metal themed radio and television shows.- Current work :...
introduced Squier that night as "one of the great singer/songwriters in the history of rock."
Squier now lives in New York's Upper West Side. Sampling of "The Big Beat" continues. The late Jam Master Jay's reference to the song as a classic beat in the early days of hip hop has paid great dividends for Squier. The three piece hip hop group performed a track live at The Funhouse
The Funhouse
The Funhouse is a 1981 horror film in which four teenagers are trapped in a dark ride and stalked by a deformed killer. The film was directed by Tobe Hooper, and the screenplay written by Larry Block...
entitled "Here We Go", using the song's backbeat. Jay Z's "99 Problems
99 Problems
"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from The Black Album. Throughout the song Jay-Z tells a story about dealing with a racist cop who wants to illegally search his car, dealing with rap critics, and dealing with an aggressor...
," a massive hit in 2003, is based on that beat, as well as British grime/hip-hop MC Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
's "Fix Up, Look Sharp
Fix Up, Look Sharp
"Fix Up, Look Sharp" is the second single by British rapper Dizzee Rascal and second from his debut album Boy in da Corner. The single became his second top forty hit and his first to peak inside the top twenty. "Fix Up, Look Sharp" peaked at number seventeen and spent three weeks inside the top...
" and Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's "Addiction".
In 2004 "Everybody Wants You
Everybody Wants You
"Everybody Wants You" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1982 album Emotions in Motion, and was released as the first single from that album, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
" was remixed with the group Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
's song "Emerge
Emerge (song)
"Emerge" is an electroclash song and the first single from debut album #1 by Fischerspooner. The song was originally released in 2001 through International DeeJay Gigolo Records and later jointly rereleased in 2002 by Fischerspooner's imprint label FS Studios and Ministry of Sound...
" and included on the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" soundtrack.
In 2006, Squier joined Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
, Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
, Rod Argent
Rod Argent
Rod Argent is an English rock musician and a founding member of the 1960s English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent....
, and Sheila E touring with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
& His All Starr Band. A documentary of the tour including a full-length concert performance is now available on DVD.
In 2008, Squier joined Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
, Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
, Gary Wright
Gary Wright
Gary Malcolm Wright is an American musician, best known for his song, "Dream Weaver". He was the piano player on Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You".-Early life:...
, Hamish Stuart
Hamish Stuart
Hamish Stuart is a guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer.- Biography :Stuart had recorded a couple of singles with his first band, the Dream Police, before he was invited to join the recently formed Average White Band in June 1972.A member of AWB from 1972 to 1982, he went on to...
and Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
touring with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
To date, Ringo Starr has toured with eleven versions of his All-Starr Band where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is a concept that was created by producer David Fishof...
.
In 2009, Squier launched a nation-wide summer/fall tour with a band that included drummer Nir Z, guitarist Marc Copely
Marc Copely
Marc Copely is an American rock and blues guitarist and songwriter.Described as "...a working-class hero of stadium-sized potential", Copely has been performing since the age of 19. The Worcester, Massachusetts born musician, launched his professional career by performing with B.B...
, long-time bassist Mark Clarke and keyboard player Alan St. Jon.
Personal life
In 2002, he married Nicole, a professional German soccer player. They divide their time between a home on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
and an apartment in the famous San Remo
The San Remo
The San Remo is a luxury, 27-floor, co-operative apartment building in New York City located between 74th and 75th streets, about 1/10 of a mile north of the Dakota building The San Remo is described by Glen Justice of the New York Times as "a dazzling two-tower building with captivating views...
on Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Billy Squier is an active volunteer for the Central Park Conservancy, doing the hands-on "dirty work" by maintaining 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the park, as well as promoting the Conservancy in articles and interviews. He also supports the Group for the East End and its native planting programs on eastern Long Island. Squier is a supporter of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and supported John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in the 2008 presidential election.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 1980 | Tale of the Tape Tale of the Tape The Tale of the Tape is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released in 1980. It was his first solo album, following two albums with the band Piper... |
169 | |
| 1981 | Don't Say No Don't Say No -Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead... |
5 |
|
| 1982 | Emotions in Motion Emotions In Motion Emotions in Motion is the third album by rock musician Billy Squier. It was released on July 23, 1982, and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It contains the hit song "Everybody Wants You", which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and held at #1 on the Mainstream Rock... |
5 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : 2× Platinum |
| 1984 | Signs of Life Signs of Life (Billy Squier album) Signs Of Life is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released in 1984. The album features Squier's Top 15 hit, "Rock Me Tonite".- Reception :Signs of Life did not sell as well as previous albums, reaching only #11 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart... |
11 |
|
| 1986 | Enough Is Enough Enough Is Enough (album) Enough Is Enough is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released on September 27, 1986. It peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart.-Track listing:# "Shot o' Love" - 4:06# "Love Is the Hero" - 4:49... |
61 | |
| 1989 | Hear & Now Hear & Now Hear & Now is a rock album by Billy Squier that was released on June 14, 1989. Although his previous album, Enough Is Enough was marginally more successful, this album charted three singles... |
64 | |
| 1991 | Creatures of Habit | 117 | |
| 1993 | Tell the Truth | - | |
| 1998 | Happy Blue | - |
Compilation albums
- A Rock and Roll ChristmasA Rock and Roll ChristmasA Rock and Roll Christmas is a rock album collected by Billy Squier that was released in 1994. It contains many Christmas-themed rock songs from the '50s, '60s, '70s, and '80s by various artists; the only song that Squier added was his "Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You".-Track listing:#...
(Various Artists Compilation) (1994) - 16 Strokes: The Best of Billy Squier (1995)
- Reach For The Sky: The Anthology (1996)
- Classic Masters (2002)
- Absolute Hits (2005)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Main Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
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| 1981 | "The Stroke The Stroke "The Stroke" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in May 1981 as the debut single from his 1981 album Don't Say No.... " [A] |
17 | 3 | 7 | Don't Say No |
| "In the Dark In the Dark (Billy Squier song) "In the Dark" is the title of a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1981 album Don't Say No, and was released as the second single from that album, following "The Stroke". It reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100... " |
35 | 7 | 22 | ||
| "Lonely Is the Night Lonely Is the Night "Lonely Is the Night" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the sixth song on his 1981 album Don't Say No and become a rock radio hit, reaching number 28 on Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1981.Squier has performed "Lonely... " |
— | 28 | — | ||
| "My Kinda Lover" | 45 | 31 | — | ||
| 1982 | "Everybody Wants You Everybody Wants You "Everybody Wants You" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1982 album Emotions in Motion, and was released as the first single from that album, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart... " |
32 | 1 | 26 | Emotions in Motion |
| "Emotions in Motion" | 68 | 20 | 13 | ||
| "Learn How to Live" | — | 15 | — | ||
| "Keep Me Satisfied" | — | 46 | — | ||
| 1983 | "She's a Runner" | 75 | 44 | — | |
| 1984 | "Rock Me Tonite Rock Me Tonite "Rock Me Tonite" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from the album Signs of Life. The song is his highest charting U.S... " |
15 | 1 | 31 | Signs of Life |
| "All Night Long" | 75 | 10 | — | ||
| "Eye on You" | 71 | 29 | — | ||
| 1986 | "Love Is The Hero" | 80 | 17 | — | Enough Is Enough |
| "Shot O' Love" | — | 30 | — | ||
| 1989 | "Don't Say You Love Me" | 58 | 4 | — | Hear and Now |
| "Tied Up" | — | 20 | — | ||
| "Don't Let Me Go" | — | 38 | — | ||
| 1991 | "She Goes Down" | — | 4 | — | Creatures of Habit |
| "Facts of Life" | — | 37 | — | ||
| 1993 | "Angry" | — | 15 | — | Tell the Truth |
External links
- Official website
- Billy Squier at VH1.comVH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...