Billy Squire

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Billy Squire Band

William Haislip Squier grew up in Massachusets and was interested in piano and guitar at a very young age.  Influence heavily by the sounds of Eric Clapton, Billy Squier performed his professional gig in 1968.  Before his solo career, Squier was a member of bands like Piper, The Sidewinders, and Magic Terry and the Universe.  Piper released two albums in the late 1970's, and the band toured with Kiss in 1977. 

After signing with Capitol records, Billy Squire's first release, Tale of the Tape, hit shelves in 1980.  Some of you may remember the songs "You Should Be High in Love" and "Big Beat" from this album.  Don't Say No was released in 1981, and contained the hits "The Stroke", "In the Dark", and "My Kind of Lover".  This album reached no. 5 on the Billboard Charts and stayed on the charts for 2 years.  Billy Squier's videos also received heavy rotation on MTV.  Almost equally as successful was Squier's 1982 release, Emotions in Motion, which also charted at no. 5 and featured the hit songs "Everybody Wants You" and the title track.  Around this time, Squire introduced the USA to Def Leppard by inviting them to open for him on his 1982 tour.

Billy Squire's released Signs of Life in 1984.  This album featured the hit song "Rock Me Tonite" that became Squire's biggest pop hit to date.  However, a reportedly lame video for the song, which had Squire dancing around in a bedroom in a pink tank top, has been credited by some as the beginning of the end for Squire.  The rest of the decade found Billy Squire playing at smaller venues and selling less records.  Still, later releases did feature some songs you may remember, such as "Love is the Hero", "Lady With a Tenor Sax", "She Goes Down", and "Don't Say You Love Me".

As the years have passed, Billy Squier could be found both in the studio and on stage, but not nearly as active as he was in his heyday.  At the time of this writing, Billy was living in Long Island and volunteering his time for various charities, including picking up trash at Central Park.  The Billy Squier Discography is currently as follows:

Listen for free or download any Billy Squier track for just 12 cents per song!

  • 1980: Tale of the Tape
  • 1981: Don't Say No
  • 1982: Emotions in Motion
  • 1984: Signs of Life
  • 1986: Enough is Enough
  • 1989: Hear & Now
  • 1991: Creatures of Habit
  • 1993: Tell the Truth
  • 1995: Sixteen Strokes: The Best of Billy Squier
  • 1996: Reach for the Sky: The Anthology
  • 1996: King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Billy Squier
  • 1998: Happy Blue
  • 2002: Classic Masters
  • 2005: Absolute Hits
  • 2012: Don't Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition