Music Blog

Stroke Me

Nancy's Notes đŸ–ŠïžđŸŽ¶

This is Week 43 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters S or T. This is my choice.

The popular consensus is that singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Squier is early-’80s rock personified. He, along with many of his peers, tempered hard rock with pop. By adding just the right amount of posing and posturing for the brand spanking new MTV set, Squier scored a string of rock anthems and power ballads. He is best known for his hit songs “The Stroke“, “Everybody Wants You”, “In the Dark”, “My Kinda Lover”, “Rock Me Tonite”, “Don’t Say You Love Me”, and “Lonely Is The Night”. But Billy Squier did not enjoy overnight success; it took many years and several failed bands before he hit paydirt as a solo artist.

Born May 12, 1950, in Wellesley, Massachusetts to a well-to-do family, Squier began playing piano and guitar at an early age but didn’t become serious about music until discovering Eric Clapton in the late ’60s and deciding to pursue music full-time. After playing in several local bands in the Boston area, Squier spent the early ’70s moving back and forth between Boston and New York City, during which time he attended the Berklee College of Music and played in a couple of rock groups.

It wasn’t until Billy Squier’s band, Piper, that he inked a recording contract, issuing a pair of underappreciated albums before splitting up. Undeterred, Squier soldiered on as a solo act, issuing his debut in 1980, which spawned a moderate rock radio hit with “You Should Be High Love,” setting the stage perfectly for his big commercial breakthrough. Looking to Led Zeppelin for inspiration, Squier’s second release, “Don’t Say No”, became a monster hit and enjoyed heavy exposure on MTV, helping him expand his audience even further.

Billy Squier’s hit parade continued with 1982’s mega-hit “Everybody Wants You.” He issued albums throughout the ’80s but it wasn’t enough to prevent his audience from moving on to younger acts such as Bon Jovi and Mötley CrĂŒe. Squier continued to release albums in the ’90s but the hard rock audience was more interested in the unpretentious groups like Nirvana and deemed the majority of ’80s rockers passĂ©.

So with his guitar gathering dust, what did Billy Squier do with himself? In 1994, Squier’s original screenplay, Run to Daylight, was short-listed at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006 and again in 2008, he played with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band alongside Edgar Winter, Sheila E, Richard Marx, Dr. Hook,  Ronnie Spector and others. “I thought, ‘Yeah, why not do it? It could be fun.’ You know, they take care of you, you play with some great musicians, you get to play with a Beatle – how bad can it be?” Squier said in an interview with music talk show host and author Eddie Trunk. “It was great – I had a great time. I did a couple of years with Ringo and that sorta got me going again.”

Billy Squier still plays the odd live gig, and in 2023 he released his first new song since 1998 
“Harder On A Woman” 
 but he has generally eschewed the reunion tour circuit. Some of that might be due to his distaste for the music industry, but it might also be because he doesn’t need the cash. He’s one of the most sampled artists in musical history … not bad at all for a performer some people have forgotten or never even heard of.

With that said, let’s sample some of Billy Squier’s best-known songs.

“The Stroke” (colloquially referred to as “Stroke Me”) was inspired by the music industry, Squier’s experience with labels, executives and the overall machine that so readily “uses, exploits and manipulates artists”. The song became a way for him to call out those evils while also offering up one of rock’s most memorable songs. “The Stroke” was released in 1981 as the debut single from his three-times-platinum album Don’t Say No. This was Squier’s first single to chart, reaching #17 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the UK Singles Chart, rising to #52 and was named the 59th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

This is “The Stroke” by Billy Squier

“Everybody Wants You” appeared as the opening track on Billy Squiers’ multi-platinum album Emotions In Motion. Released as the a single, the song reached #31 on the Cash Box Top 100 and #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became a much bigger hit on AOR (Album Oriented Rock) radio, gridlocking the top spot of Mainstream Rock charts for six weeks.

This is “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier

“Lonely Is the Night” appeared as the first track on side two of Billy Squier’s triple-platinum album, Don’t Say No, and became a rock radio hit, reaching #28 on Billboard‘s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

From August, 2008, this is “Lonely Is the Night” by Billy Squier and Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band.

In the Led Zeppelin biography, Hammer of the Gods, “Lonely Is the Night” is mentioned, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as one of the best singles Zeppelin ever put out, presumably for its similarity to “Nobody’s Fault But Mine“. There’s the link; you be the judge.

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 43 – Stranglers in the night

Big thanks to Glyn Wilton for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

31 thoughts on “Stroke Me”

  1. When The Stroke came out…I bought the single right away because it was a song that was so different than the other songs at the time. He was my second concert ever in 1982 with Nazareth opening. I also like “Lonely Is The Night” which could have been done by Zeppelin.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. I’m glad someone else is talking about him. I thought the guy would be around for decades as far as being popular.
        I’m sorry I missed so many of your posts this week. I balance it between work and I run out of time at times. I will do better though.

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    1. “Look, Billy! You can come out on stage wearing pants that tight and screaming “Stroke me, stroke me” and expect us gals not to get just a wee bit excited.” Am I right, Liz, or am I right?? He was cool back then and I dug him. It’s wild how many people never heard of him! Somehow I get the impression he wouldn’t care.

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    1. But ,,, but ,,, how do you really feel, Clive? đŸ€Ł

      When Billy first made an appearance on MTV with his long hair and tight pants, I was definitely a fan. His music rocked pretty good but the hair and pants made up for any lack of talent. Now I see him as more of a one trick pony but I did enjoy that vid of him with Ringo’s band.

      I set out to prove that our writing can be fair and honest even if we’re not hot for the artist. 😎

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      1. I just thought he was an untalented, posing twat, doing the same thing that many others had done, but better than him. Terrible voice, boring songs.

        Does that answer your question? đŸ€Ł

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  8. I’ve learned a thing or two about a singer I don’t think I’ve heard of before! He’s quite a shouter. Interesting!

    Incidentally, I went a concert by Justin Hayward ‘the voice of The Moody Blues’ the other night. They are up there with my fave bands of all time. He was brilliant!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Believe me, Keith! I would listen to Justin Hayward over Billy Squier any day of the week. I wanted to see if I could write something fair and balanced about an artist I used to like. They don’t always have to be our faves.

      Glad to know you get to see JH and your favorite bands frequently. That’s a real bonus!

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    1. Thanks, Willow! That’s what I set out to do today. As I was telling Clive and Keith, I was a fan of Billy Squier back in the day and I think his music was good then. Now I see his songs all sound the same. I was hoping there would be people reading my post who never heard of him and I see I’m right. That’s very cool! 😎 ♡

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      1. Well you are right I had not heard of of this …. I enjoyed the videos …Unlike Clive I have more tolerance and I do not condem as easily.. Hey I like Sam and Immie and simply everything in-between 💜💜💜

        This is me and I say

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        1. Yes, it’s a common judgement call to paint people with a very broad brush; not my style even though there are certain genres I simply do not like. Someone likes them so it’s to each their own as far as I’m concerned. Great ABBA video! đŸ©¶đŸ©¶

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