Billy Squier
| Billy Squier | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Haislip Squier |
| Born |
May 12, 1950 Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician Songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Capitol |
| Associated acts |
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Magic Terry and The Universe Kicks The Sidewinders Piper |
| Website | www |
William Haislip Squier (born May 12, 1950) is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke," from his 1981 Triple Platinum breakout album release Don't Say No.
Other hits include "In the Dark," "Rock Me Tonite," "The Big Beat," "Lonely Is the Night," "Everybody Wants You," and "Emotions in Motion."
William Haislip Squier was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is a 1968 graduate of Wellesley High School. While growing up, he began playing piano and guitar, but did not become serious with music until discovering John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (with Eric Clapton). When Squier was nine, he took piano lessons for two years and his grandfather bribed him to continue for a third. After he stopped taking piano lessons, he became interested in guitar and bought one from a neighbor for $95. Squier never took guitar lessons. He briefly attended Berklee College of Music in 1971.
Billy Squier's first public performances were at a Boston nightclub in Kenmore Square called the Psychedelic Supermarket in 1968, which was where he saw Eric Clapton and the band Cream. Squier's first original effort was with the band Magic Terry & The Universe in 1969. In the early 1970s, he formed Kicks, which included future New York Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan. He then joined The Sidewinders. Squier left the group to form the band Piper in 1976, which released two albums, Piper and Can't Wait. However, he left soon after. Upon reviewing the debut Piper, Circus Magazine touted it as "the greatest debut album ever produced by a US rock band." Piper was managed by the same management company as Kiss, and indeed, it opened for Kiss during their 1977 tour, including two nights of a sold-out run at New York's Madison Square Garden.
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