Billy Squier
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2008-07-05T18:05:08Z
Katharineamy
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/76.241.185.97|76.241.185.97]] ([[User talk:76.241.185.97|talk]]) to last version by Lightbot
{{Infobox musical artist
| Image =
| Name = Billy Squier
| Img_capt =
| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = solo_singer
| Birth_name = William Haislip Squier
| Alias =
| Born = {{birth date and age|1950|5|12}}<br>[[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| Died =
| Instrument = [[singer|Vocals]], [[guitar]], [[keyboards]]
| Voice_type =
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[hard rock]]
| Occupation = [[Musician]], [[Songwriter]]
| Years_active = 1968-1993
| Label = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| Associated_acts = The Sidewinders, Piper, Magic Terry and the Universe
| URL = http://www.billysquier.com
}}
'''William Haislip "Billy" Squier''' (born [[May 12]] [[1950]], in [[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], [[Massachusetts]], USA) is a [[Rock music|rock]] [[musician]]. Squier had a string of [[arena rock]] hits in the 1980s. He is probably best known for the song "[[The Stroke]]" on his 1981 album release ''[[Don't Say No]]''. Other hits include "[[In The Dark (song)|In The Dark]]", "Rock Me Tonite", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", "Everybody Wants You", "All Night Long" and "Emotions in Motion".
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==Biography==
===Early life===
William Squier was born in [[Wellesley, Massachusetts]] and was raised there. When he was nine years old in 1959, Squier started taking piano lessons that were taught by his grandfather which lasted for two years. When he was twelve he became interested at playing the guitar and bought a danelectro guitar from his friend for 90 dollars. When Squier was sixteen in 1966, he and some high school friends form a band called the Bluesbreakers. Shortly after his high school graduation in 1968, he got his first gig at the Psychedelic Supermarket where he saw [[Eric Clapton]] and his band [[Cream (band)|Cream]] perform.
===Career===
Billy Squier originally performed with Magic Terry & The Universe, which also included [[Klaus Flouride]], who went on to play with [[The Dead Kennedys]]. He then performed with The Sidewinders, a [[Band (music)|band]] that premiered during the early 1970s. He played with members including Mike Reed, Alex Phillips, Henry Stern, and Bryan Chase. Squier left the group to form the band [[Piper (band)|Piper]], which released a couple of [[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)|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 for some of their most memorable performances during their 1977 tour, including 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 music|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.
===Early 80s peak===
Squier asked [[Brian May]] to produce his album ''[[Don't Say No]]''. Unfortunately, May had to decline due to scheduling conflicts, but he recommended instead [[Reinhold Mack]] who had produced one of [[Queen (band)|Queen]]'s most successful albums ever, ''[[The Game (album)|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 even topping the singles chart in Australia. "In The Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" were successful follow-up singles. Squier was a monster act on Album Rock radio with every track on the album receiving airplay.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} ''[[Don't Say No]]'' reached the Top 5 and lasted well over two years on Billboard's album chart, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} What truly distinguished the album was the amazing longevity of the tracks, many of which still receive recognition on "classic rock" radio stations.
Billy Squier's third album for Capitol, ''[[Emotions In Motion]]'', was released in 1982 and became nearly as successful as ''[[Don't Say No]]''. This album also climbed into Billboard's Top 5 and sold nearly 3 million US copies. The lead single was the album's title track but the major hit was "Everybody Wants You" which hit #1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart and #32 on the Hot 100. Squier was also popular on [[MTV]]. That same year, he recorded a song for the movie ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]''.
==="Rock Me Tonite" video and fall===
Two years passed between ''[[Emotions In Motion]]'' and Squier's next album ''[[Signs of Life (Billy Squier album)|Signs Of Life]]''. It was his third consecutive Platinum album. The album's first single release, "Rock Me Tonite" was Billy'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, which largely consisted on Billy dancing around a bedroom in a pink tank top, frequently appears on "worst music video ever" lists.
Billy Squier's career took a major downturn afterward. His next two albums, released in 1986 and 1989, sold in the neighborhood of 300,000 copies each. Billy also began playing smaller venues like music theatres. The 1990s would find Squier largely off the radar and recording and performing considerably less.
Squier is also known for his collaborations with [[Freddie Mercury]] on Squier's 1986 release ''[[Enough Is Enough (album)| Enough Is Enough]]'' ("Love Is The Hero", "Lady With A Tenor Sax"). Mercury also sang background vocals on Squier's hit single "Emotions in Motion".
In 1983, Squier did his first headlining arena U.S. tour with [[Def Leppard]] as opening act and Def Leppard upstaged him. Squier confirmed this on the [[VH1]] show Ultimate Albums on the episode which spotlighted the making of Def Leppard's ''[[Pyromania]]'' album.
On that same show, Squier revealed that his career as a chart-topping rocker came to a stunningly rapid and sudden end with the release of the music video for "Rock Me Tonite", derided by his fans who saw him as a guitar hero.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} The video showed Squier in a bedroom with soft, pastel fabrics and shimmering satin sheets, and featured Squier ripping off his clothing, reminiscent of [[Jennifer Beals]]' performance in the film ''[[Flashdance]]''.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
===Later years===
Nevertheless, Squier continued to record music throughout the '80s and '90s. He released ''[[Hear And Now]]'' 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, Billy 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 (album)|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 the album, and Squier walked away from the music business to pursue other endeavors.
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]]."
==Recent activity and influence==
Squier played a special acoustic show at BB King's in NYC 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 Classic]] 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. [[Jay Z]]'s "99 Problems," a massive hit in 2004, is based on that beat, as well as British grime/hip-hop MC [[Dizzee Rascal]]'s "Fix Up, Look Sharp".
Squier's hobbies include such disparate activities as mountain climbing and gardening. He also has written an award-winning screenplay (Sundance Film Festival).
In 2006, Squier joined [[Rod Argent]], [[Richard Marx]], [[Edgar Winter]], and [[Sheila E]] touring with [[Ringo Starr]] & His All Starr Band.
"The Stroke" can be heard in the films ''[[Blades of Glory]]'' and ''[[Billy Madison]]''.
[[RZA]] referenced Billy on [[Masta Killa]]'s "Iron God Chamber." On the 2006 song, [[RZA]] said:
"I got a 'big'ger 'beat' than Billy Squier" at about 1:22. The song appeared on [[Masta Killa]]'s ''[[Made In Brooklyn]]''.
[[Hard rock]] band [[Buckcherry]] cover "The Stroke" frequently in live concerts, while [[Damone (band)|Damone]] have recorded a version of "Everybody Wants You" for the [[CW Network]].
Squier's "The Big Beat" was sampled by [[Kanye West]] on the track "Addiction" in his 2005 album, ''[[Late Registration]]''.
The drum track from "The Stroke" can be heard throughout the song "Opticon" by [[Orgy (band)|Orgy.]]
"Lonely Is the Night" is one of the tracks on the [[Activision]] game ''[[Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s]]''.
"Everybody Wants You" is featured on USA Network's advertising of the upcoming second season of their television series Burn Notice, to start airing July 10,2008.
In 2008, Squier joined [[Colin Hay]], [[Edgar Winter]], [[Gary Wright]], [[Hamish Stuart]] and [[Gregg Bissonette]] touring with [[Ringo Starr]] and his All-Starr Band.
==Discography==
*''[[Tale of the Tape]]'' (1980) #169 US
*''[[Don't Say No]]'' (1981) #5 US
*''[[Emotions in Motion]]'' (1982) #5 US
*''[[Signs of Life (Billy Squier album)|Signs of Life]]'' (1984) #11 US
*''[[Enough Is Enough (album)|Enough Is Enough]]'' (1986) #61 US
*''[[Hear & Now]]'' (1989) #64 US
*''[[Creatures of Habit (album)|Creatures of Habit]]'' (1991) #117 US
*''[[Tell the Truth (album)|Tell the Truth]]'' (1993)
*''[[A Rock and Roll Christmas]]'' (Various Artists Compilation) (1994)
*''[[16 Strokes: The Best Of Billy Squier]]'' (1995)
*''[[King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Billy Squier]]'' (1996)
*''[[Reach For The Sky: The Anthology]]'' (1996)
*''[[Happy Blue]]'' (1998)
*''Absolute Hits'' (2005)
==Singles==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Song
! <small>[[Billboard Hot 100|US Hot 100]]</small>
! <small>[[Mainstream Rock Tracks|US MSR]]</small>
! <small>[[UK singles chart|UK singles]]</small>
! Album
|-
| 1981
| "The Stroke"
| 17
| 3
| 52
| ''Don't Say No''
|-
| 1981
| "In The Dark"
| 35
| 7
| -
| ''Don't Say No''
|-
| 1981
| "Lonely Is The Night"
| -
| 28
| -
| ''Don't Say No''
|-
| 1982
| "My Kinda Lover"
| 45
| 31
| -
| ''Don't Say No''
|-
| 1982
| "Everybody Wants You"
| 32
| '''1'''
| -
| ''Emotions In Motion''
|-
| 1982
| "Emotions In Motion"
| 68
| 20
| -
| ''Emotions In Motion''
|-
| 1982
| "Learn How To Live"
| -
| 15
| -
| ''Emotions In Motion''
|-
| 1982
| "Keep Me Satisfied"
| -
| 46
| -
| ''Emotions In Motion''
|-
| 1983
| "She's A Runner"
| 75
| 44
| -
| ''Emotions In Motion''
|-
| 1984
| "Rock Me Tonite"
| 15
| '''1'''
| -
| ''Signs Of Life''
|-
| 1984
| "All Night Long"
| 75
| 10
| -
| ''Signs Of Life''
|-
| 1984
| "Eye On You"
| 71
| 29
| -
| ''Signs Of Life''
|-
| 1986
| "Love Is The Hero"
| 80
| 17
| -
| ''Enough Is Enough''
|-
| 1986
| "Shot O' Love"
| -
| 30
| -
| ''Enough Is Enough''
|-
| 1989
| "Don't Say You Love Me"
| 58
| 4
| -
| ''Hear And Now''
|-
| 1989
| "Tied Up"
| -
| 20
| -
| ''Hear And Now''
|-
| 1989
| "Don't Let Me Go"
| -
| 38
| -
| ''Hear And Now''
|-
| 1991
| "She Goes Down"
| -
| 4
| -
| ''Creatures Of Habit''
|-
| 1991
| "Facts Of Life"
| -
| 37
| -
| ''Creatures Of Habit''
|-
| 1993
| "Angry"
| -
| 15
| -
| ''Tell The Truth''
|}
==External links==
* [http://www.billysquier.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/squier_billy/bio.jhtml VH1 Biography on Squier]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squier, Billy}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Massachusetts musicians]]
[[Category:People from Norfolk County, Massachusetts]]
[[pl:Billy Squier]]