donnica59

<ul><li>Squier played for two all-but-forgotten bands, the Sidewinders and Piper, during the 1970s before embarking on his much more successful solo career. </li><li>Piper's greatest claim to fame was as the opening act for KISS during that band's legendary 1977 tour.</li><li><br></li><li>His first solo album,&nbsp;<strong>Tale Of The Tape</strong>&nbsp;from 1980, was a modest success but produced no hit singles. </li><li>Its most noteworthy track is "The Big Beat," which became a popular choice for sampling by hip-hop artists. Jay-Z used it on "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/jay-z/99-problems" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">99 Problems</a>."</li><li>Squier brought in Reinhold Mack, who had produced Queen's album&nbsp;<strong>The Game</strong>, to produce his 1981 album&nbsp;<strong>Don't Say No</strong>. </li><li>This turned out to be his breakthrough, with hits "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-squier/the-stroke" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">The Stroke</a>" (#17) and "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-squier/in-the-dark" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">In The Dark</a>" (#35), along with lesser hits "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-squier/my-kinda-lover" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">My Kinda Lover</a>" and "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-squier/lonely-is-the-night" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Lonely Is The Night</a>." </li><li>All four of these songs got considerable airplay on Classic Rock radio.</li><li>"The Stroke" quickly became Squier's signature tune and his only hit in the UK, where it reached #52. </li><li>Because of its title, many listeners thought the song was about masturbation, but it's really about record companies "stroking" the egos of their artists while they fleece them.</li><li><br></li><li>Squier's third solo album,&nbsp;<strong>Emotions In Motion</strong>, produced another US Top 40 hit, "Everybody Wants You" (#32). </li><li>The title track, which features Queen frontman Freddie Mercury on backing vocals, was also a minor hit. </li><li>In 1983 Squier began his first American headline tour to promote the album - only to be upstaged by his opening act, Def Leppard, who had just broken through in the US.</li></ul><p><br></p>