Billy Squier

At 74 years old, Billy Squier has this physical status:

William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American rock musician and singer, who had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980's.

He is best known for the songs "The Stroke" and "Lonely Is the Night" from his 1981 album Don't Say No. Other popular tracks include "My Kinda Lover", "In the Dark", "Rock Me Tonite", "Everybody Wants You", "Emotions in Motion" and "The Big Beat."

Personal life

In 2002, Squier married Nicole Schoen, a German professional soccer player. They divided their time between a home in Bridgehampton, Long Island and an apartment in The San Remo on Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City. Squier had been, as of 2016, an active volunteer for the Central Park Conservancy for more than 17 years, physically maintaining 20 acres (81,000 m2) of the park, as well as promoting the Conservancy in articles and interviews. He also supported the Group for the East End and its native planting programs on eastern Long Island.

In 1985, Squier hired a helicopter from the Prince of Nepal and offered $10,000 in cash to two helicopter pilots to land him on the summit of Mount Everest. They turned him down, saying that it was too dangerous.

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Career

Squier was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, at the age of 17. He attended Wellesley High School in 1968 and is a graduate. He started playing piano and guitar as a child, but he didn't become serious about music until he met John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (with Eric Clapton). When Squier was nine years old, his grandfather taught him piano for two years. After receiving one from his older brother (or, as another story goes, he purchased a guitar from his neighbor for 90 dollars). When Squier was 14 years old, the Reltneys formed his first band, Reltneys.

Eric Clapton and the band Cream appeared at a Boston nightclub in 1968, which is where Squier's first public performances occurred in 1968. He began to take music seriously, and with a school friend, he formed the band Magic Terry & the Universe. Squier tried out with various short-lived bands, beginning with the Kicks with future New York Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan. Squier attended Berklee College of Music for a brief time in 1971. Squier wanted to become a tutor but instead returned to New York to perform with the Sidewinders, the pop band.

Squier's first real life in the 1970s came after he signed a record with his new band Piper, which went on to release two studio albums, Piper and Can't Wait. Critics lauded the band's self-titled album, Circus magazine praised it as "the best debut album ever produced by a US rock band." During their 1977 tour, Piper was operated by the same management firm as Kiss and opened for them, with two nights of a sold-out run at Madison Square Garden in New York. Squier served as both the group's main songwriter and frontman.

Piper broke up despite being a hit on the local rock scene. In 1979, Squier signed a solo contract with Capitol Records and began working on his solo debut, The Tale of the Tape, which was first released in spring 1980. The album gave him a lot of energy and promotion after three months on Billboard's album chart, but it was only at #69. "You Should Be High Love" and "The Big Beat," Squier's debuting on the charts, received modest radio exposure throughout the country, but not to a large extent. Alan St. Jon on keyboards, Cary Sharaf on lead guitar, and Mark Clarke (who previously worked in Uriah Heep and Rainbow) on bass, along with Bobby Chouinard.

Following a small but fruitful summer with Alice Cooper in 1980, Squier came in contact with Queen guitarist Brian May and suggested that he produce his next album. May's show due to scheduling conflicts, but he did recommend Reinhold Mack, who had produced the Queen's most recent album The Game. Squier and Mack team up to produce Don't Say No, which received rave reviews and spawned three hit singles. "The Stroke," his breakthrough hit in the United States and Australia's top five, as well as charting high in Canada and Britain, where the song remains his only chart entry. Both "In the Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" were well-received sequels. Despite not being released as a single (though, in the United Kingdom, it was also named "Underly Is the Night," which became a radio favorite and one of his signature songs, despite not being released as a single (However, in the United Kingdom, it was the B-side for "In the Dark"). Squier's simple performance-based videos received a lot of attention on the new MTV cable channel, where his straightforward performance-based videos received a lot of attention. No. 5 on the Billboard 200 reached its high point in two years on the charts, with over 4 million copies in the United States alone, making it Squier's most commercially lucrative album.

Squier is known for his insistence on perfection and a short-tempered at producers. Since disagreements between the two groups erupted due to stylistic inconsistencies, he ended his relationship with Mack. Despite the difficulties, Squier's third album Emotions In Motion was released in 1982 and became extremely popular, but it didn't manage to exceed its predecessor in terms of numbers in the long run. Nonetheless, the album debuted at number 5 in both United States and Canada, sold over 3 million copies, and spawned the hits "Emotions in Motion" and "Everybody Wants You" during both US and Canada. The latter is regarded as Squier's first top-rated Rock chart and has been in place for six weeks in a row, more than any other number one in 1982. Squier and his band appeared as openers on the Queen's 1982 Hot Space Tour's North American leg, and later, he became a headliner act for the first time. In the United Kingdom, British newcomer Def Leppard supported him and helped the band break through in the United States, in connection with the unveiling of their breakthrough album Pyromania.

After completing his first headlining arena tour, Squier began writing songs for his fourth album Signs of Life in late 1983. Robert John "Mutt" Lange was supposed to be the producer. Lange had already been booked by The Cars and had a breakdown later on. Jim Steinman, whom he adored for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell, was brought on to Squier, whom he referred to as "the most passionate and exciting rock record of our time." Despite being much smaller than average, Steinman demonstrated enthusiasm for the venture and he enjoyed his time with Squier and his band. The resultant album turned from Squier's traditional hard rock to a more keyboard-oriented style, with hints at Steinman's Wagnerian production approach.

Squier was at the peak of his career when Signs of Life appeared in late July 1984. The album received his third straight platinum award, owing to the songs "Rock Me Tonite" and "All Night Long." Director Kenny Ortega's music video for "Rock Me Tonite," which featured Squier dancing in a bedroom wearing a pink tank top, was a contentious pick. I Want My MTV's 2011 book was dubbed the worst video of all time. "I don't recall that video being poorly received at the time," Martha Quinn, an MTV VJ when "Rock Me Tonite" was announced, said. Squier stopped selling out shows whether it was the video or the change in music style or other reasons. Ortega's chiefs and subpoenas for misleading and deceiving him. Ortega has denied Squier's charges.

Squier spent the majority of 1985, except for a few live appearances and a single song called "Shake Down" for the soundtrack of the film St. Elmo's Fire, staying out of the spotlight for the majority of the year, taking some time off and preparing his next album with British producer Peter Collins, who was known for his appearances with Nik Kershaw, Gary Moore, and Rush. Enough Is Enough, his fifth album, which was deliberately planned, but it was also a commercial flop. "Love Is the Hero," the album's minor hit, with Freddie Mercury on backing vocals. "Lady With a Tenor Sax" by Mercury co-wrote and arranged the album's "Lady With a Tenor Sax," which also appears on the album. Enough Is Enough has sold more than 300,000 copies. Love Is the Hero" has traditionally been lauded. Squier did not embark on a tour to sell the album.

Squier spent the next three years on his sixth full-length album, Hear & Now, which was released in 1989. The album reached #64, but Enough Is Enough sold only 300,000, the same as Enough Is Enough. "Don't Say You Love Me" was a modestly popular comeback single and his last Hot 100 debut, reaching #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and advancing to #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, with a modestly high success.

Creatures of Habit, Squier's seventh album, was released in 1991. Both critical and audience receptions were mixed; many people chastised the album for lacking creativity and being uninspired, mainly on the songwriting front. Some of the album's polished sounds were also old, considering that alternative rock and particularly grunge were dominating the rock scene at the time of the album's release. The album dropped to #17 in the United States, where it was still at #117 on the charts. It does not have the radio hits, "She Goes Down" and "Acts of Life," but it does have "Facts of Life." The former is Squier's last Top 5 on the Mainstream Rock charts and his first charting radio single of the 1990s. With a tour, Creatures of Habit were aided in their journey.

Squier's last album, Tell the Truth, was released in 1993 by Capitol Records, with various groups of musicians on the various tracks. Despite Squier's favourably comparing it to Don't say No, Capitol did little to advertise it, which resulted in his first album not to chart and selling 37,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Squier walked away from the brand and music market as a whole following the album's debut.

At the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, Squier's original screenplay Run To Daylight was shortlisted. The film itself was never produced. Billy Squier's Best of Billy Squier, a 1995 Capitol project.

Squier performed "I Have Watched You Fly" on stage during the first run of Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, a monodrama about Freddie Mercury's life. "I was privileged to know Freddie as a friend," he introduced the song. I'm honored to share the stage with him in the afterlife."

Squier's last studio album to date, a stripped-down acoustic blues effort titled Happy Blue, was released independently that year. Squier himself was the only musician on the record, and it was both stylistically and sonically a departure from his typical hard rock sound, with no overdubs on the record. Squier reworked his hit song "The Stroke" into an old-fashioned blues number, "Stroke Me Blues."

Don't Say No. It was the 20th anniversary of Don't Say No. Squier began his first big concert tour since 1991's Creatures of Habits.

"Everybody Wants You" was reimagined with the group's "Emerge" and included on the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy album in 2004. Squier joined Richard Marx, Edgar Winter, Rod Argent, Hamish Stuart, and Sheila E touring with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band in 2006. Following a complete tour experience, a documentary of the tour was released on DVD. Squier performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 with Ronnie Spector, Mitch Ryder, Tone Loc, Deniece Williams, Dr. Hook, and Tom Cochrane. Squier performed with Colin Hay, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Hamish Stuart, and Gregg Bissonette, who performed with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band in 2008. Squier's drummer Nir Z, guitarist Marc Copely, long-time bassist Mark Clarke, and keyboardist Alan St. Jon performed throughout the summer/fall tour in 2009.

At B.B., Squier appeared in a special acoustic display. On November 30, 2005, King's in New York opened on November 30, 2005. The show's highlights included acoustic versions of "Everybody Wants You," "Nobody Knows," "Learn How to Live," and the majority of the Happy Blue project. Eddie Trunk, a hard rock radio icon in New York, and the VH1 Classic and New York hard rock radio icon, debuted Squier as "one of the finest singer/songwriters in rock history."

Squier, Henry Cotton, Bern Geils Band), Jon Butcher, Sib Hashian (Boston), Michael Carabello (Santana), and James Cotton were among the Boston Legends Tribute to James Cotton in May 2010. Squier accepted Cotton's invitation to attend the "James Cotton's Blues Summit" at Lincoln Center in NYC in June, alongside the legendary Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin' Wolf's band), Taj Mahal (Howlin Wolf's band), and many more. Squier appeared at the Iridium in New York in November and performed "Blues Deluxe" that showcased songs from his blues upbringing and new interpretations of several of his hits.

Shout!

Don't Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition was released on July 27, 2010, marking the first time that this album had been remastered in over 20 years. It was published in collaboration with Squier, who gave two live bonus cuts from his personal collection. All his albums, except Tell the Truth and Happy Blue, were released on digital and streaming in the same year. Tell the Truth first appeared in 2014 and 2020, and Happi Blue is a promise.

Squier appeared at the Edison Ballroom in New York in October 2011 for the third annual "Right to Rock" Benefit for the Little Kids Rock charity, as well as the group of Jersey City students.

Squier appeared at many shows at the New Orleans Jazzfest in May 2012. Squier made a surprise appearance at the John Varvatos store in Easthampton, NY, in honor of his friend, rock photographer Rob Shanahan, and his latest book, "Volume One." In another fundraising effort for 'Little Kids Rock,' Squier appeared at the "Industrial Hedgefund Awards Dinner" in New York in June.' Squier appeared as a visitor on the Westport Blues Festival in September as a guest. Squier headlined a fund-raising concert for "The American Revolution," a Boston documentary about legendary rock FM station WBCN.

In the summer of 2013, Squier performed his 'Electric Man' display at the Patchogue Music Festival on Long Island. He appeared at the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans in November. The Stooges, a local brass band (not to be confused with Iggy Pop's band), performed on "The Stroke" in Squier. Eminem also launched 'Berzerk,' which makes use of various samples from "The Stroke" at the same time. He sampled "My Kind of Lover" later in his 2014 efforts, "Shady XV."

Squier's 'Electric Man' display appeared at the 9th Jack Show in Anaheim, California, in September 2014.

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