Photo: Distributed by Premier Talent Agency / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Squier was on a genuine rocket ride in the early 1980s, with Don't Say No standing as one of the era's tightest, most muscular hard-rock records. The Stroke is a perfect arena-rock riff machine. The painful irony of his story is how a single ill-judged music video supposedly knocked his momentum sideways just as he peaked, which always struck me as one of rock's saddest what-ifs. But his real legacy might be that drum break from The Big Beat, sampled endlessly across hip-hop. The man's groove outlived his charts, and I think that counts for a lot.
Overview
Billy Squier (born May 12, 1950) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist who rose to prominence in the early 1980s. He is best known for hits such as The Stroke, Everybody Wants You, and Lonely Is the Night, drawn from his commercially successful albums Don't Say No and Emotions in Motion. His riff from The Big Beat has been widely sampled in hip-hop.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Billy Squier
- Name (Japanese)
- ビリー・スクワイア
- Reading
- びりー・すくわいあ
- Born
- May 12, 1950 (age 76)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Tiger
- Origin
- Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States
- Occupation
- Songwriter / Singer-songwriter / Guitarist / Singer / Keyboardist
2. Background
- High school
- Wellesley High School
- University
- Berklee College of Music
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Billy Squier born?
Born May 12, 1950 (age 76).
Where is Billy Squier from?
Billy Squier is from Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States.
What does Billy Squier do?
Billy Squier works as Songwriter, Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, Singer, Keyboardist.
Songwriter — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.