British guitarist analyses Billy Squier's honed stage craft in 1981!
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2020
- Tonight we're going back to 1981 to take a look at Billy Squier!
Original video - • Billy Squier - Lonely ...
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The world owes this guy an apology!
Dude is worth 40 mil. Probably competed with wilt chamberlain in total numbers in the 80s, naw he alright. Only his video producer needs to apologize.
The world wanted him. The music industry mistreated him.
@@frankenfurter58 The music industry mistreats everybody. Mafia.
The music industry does anyway
Love Billy!
Billy Squier is one of the most underrated, underappreciated rock musicians ever. His music from the 80's is timeless and legendary.
What they did to this man...!!!!
He's got 6-10 songs that are almost 100% hooks from every instrument, including vocals. He also uses call and response between the instruments all the time. Incredible songwriting and production. How he isn't one of the biggest stars ever is baffling.
Agreed. I'm also very proud to say Billy grew up two towns over from me in Wellesley Massachusetts.
6 to 10 at least. Great songwriter and all-around musician
he isnt one of the biggest stars ever because..... ROCK ME TONITE video. it was a career killer !! what a shame, he was so talented.
He's my all time favorite musician! Yay for the fire of Squier! ❤😎🎧
I could tell you exactly why, many won't want to believe...
Billy Squier is so underrated it's ridiculous!
Billy Squier was superb in the early 1980's. His rock videos help launch MTV.
I remember the first time a friend played the 'Don't Say No' album for me. The only song of his I had heard to that point was 'The Stroke'. I remember saying 'Is this a greatest hits album or something?' because every single track was so great. It's such a shame that one video really killed his popularity. He is extremely talented, and so underrated.
This guy has his music played worldwide 24-7 and most do not even realize it, Cheers!
I have always been a huge fan of Billy Squier's. I saw him in concert in the early 2000's, Great White played first. What a great night it was. I hear he has new music out ( 2023). We use to have "Commonground" where i live. 7 nights of some of the best bands ever. 2 great bands per night. I'm aging and can't attend another concert but i spent many years doing that, i have rock in my DNA.
Completely underrated in every sense of the word. A great player, a great singer and more importantly a great songwriter.
Perfectly said
"Don't Say No" is one of the all time great rock records.
It's still a go-to and makes me feel good!!
Absolutely
What a set of pipes he had. One of those very distinct voices like, well you know, all of those 70's lead singers!
Still has.
One of the absolutely most underrated power rock performers of the early 80's. The girls loved him, and the guys wished they were him.
I guess the guys wished they were him until that “Rock Me Tonight” video.
@ George Wodicka...nice! All the girls wanted him, and the guys wanted to be him. Haven’t heard that one in a long time. That’s what my grand mum used to say about my dad (her son) and my mum... “that was of course until your mum can along. Cause all the girls wanted to be her and all the guys wanted to court her hahaha
@Brain Stormer...I kinda enjoyed Billy’s theatrical slithering in the “rock me tonight” video!
A. Ready for broadway or
B. Ready for the pole? 🤔 🤷♀️😂
Agree 💯
@@jimmycampbell78 the one dude that really wished he was him was Michael Stipe of REM because that's where his famous spastic dance came from..
Billy Squier was the first concert I ever went to and it was fantastic! I was 13 when Don't Say No came out, and it just blew me away, one of the best albums of the 80s for sure. He is so under-appreciated today. I remember wearing my Billy Squier t-shirt at school after the Rock Me Tonight video and having guys in my class say to me, "You still like that ******?", so yeah, hard as it is to believe, one stupid cringe-y video can derail so many years of hard work. Thanks, Fil, for featuring Billy Squier and for reminding me how lucky I was to be a teenager in the 80s to experience this great music first hand
My first concert was Billy Squier too! Emotions in Motion tour with Def Leppard opening. I was in 8th grade (US) and wore my concert shirt proudly in school the next day. In music class, we were assigned a report on a band/musician. Had my Billy Squier report turned in within a day or two 😂 everyone needs a music turn on in whatever genre speaks to you. He was mine and I'm grateful 💚👍
Always love Billy Squier, his voice is so distinctive and his guitar style speaks for itself.
I remember sitting in my room, with my "jam box" I got for Christmas, waiting for this song to come on the radio so I could record it...
And I'd wait for hours...and then the D.J. would talk over the beginning...and I'd have to wait again.
Gosh I miss those days!!
@Forrest Hunter I feel so bad for my kids, they have no idea how much fun you could have with little to nothing lol...and they definitely missed out on the earlier years of awesome music..
Probably why my girls love Queen more than newer bands, you can't argue with talent..
@@whoathatsanicememe3093 I have talked to 20 somethings that were completely unaware that there was a time before autotune. They honestly didn't know that with practice people can harmonize without it.
@@NuclearGrizzly that actually makes me feel really sad..
The music industry is shit nowadays for sure..
Me too! The struggle was real.
@Forrest Hunter what's funny is I'm not even the biggest Queen fan nor is their father, we are more into heavier music, they picked it up on their own...
"Santa" brought them all Queen shirts for Christmas and they wear them to school proudly..
Appreciate the kind words about Billy .The man is a national treasure and it's ashame what they did to him.
DAMN ! What a talent! He's just as sweet as he is gifted!! Talked to him in Dallas in 1981 ,he had many questions about the Detroit bands Alice Cooper, Bob Segar,Ted Nugent ect..
I always loved Billy's music and him! Had quite a few of his albums. He's a cool musician with great hair!! Miss you Billy!! Thanks Fil, spot on review!
I was in love with Squire's voice, his rhythm and guitar playing. He picked you up and set you on the dance floor. Such intense music yet solid rhythm and a beat that wouldn't let you sit one out! A unique talent. Well done. ❤ One of my favorites.😊
Billy was a great performer. I have met many people from the 80's say the best concert they saw is Billy Squire.
Billy was being toted at the time as being Page & Plant in one body. He came pretty close from time to time. And of course he had Reinhold Mack producing his stuff right before Mack jumped ship to become Queen's producer, so you can hear that Queen/Zeppelin stomp all over Billy's early material.
Love Billy Squier's music. Wish I could have been there for a live show in the 80's. But I still can listen to his albums.
Billy is badass… so underrated…..this is my fave track by him…
Excellent analyses. Billy Squire will always remain one of my 80's favourites. The keyboard player is awesome.
I love listening to Billy Squire! Back in the 1980s he was HUGE. The entire band sounds great in this video! Wonderful musicians! 🎶🎸👍
Fil, I really appreciate your candid analysis of Billy Squier and his very talented band. What makes Billy Squier a true original is his unmistakable voice, his consummate guitar playing, and the passion and drive of his band. You put that all together, and you have effortless chemistry. As you said, his music is right up your street, and it has been for me since I was 7 years old. I also appreciate you pointing out the elements, tonal qualities, and riff playing of Billy to that of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page without stating he sounds exactly like them. Each of them are distinct in so many ways, so a direct comparison would have been an injustice. There are elements, but one can hear them for only a fraction of a second, as you aptly pointed out. The bass player in this song and during this particular concert in Santa Monica, CA was Kenny Aaronson. Doug Lubahn played bass on the studio album. Again, a great analysis on your part of shedding light on Billy's unique talents and showmanship. Cheers, mate.
Santa Monica Ca. Nov. 20, 1981.
I had just graduated from boot camp down the road in San Diego in the USMC that day.
Billy Squier's tunes are definitely among many that colored those service years with great memories. The Don't' Say No album really takes me back. Phenomenal record.
Such a vastly underrated guitarist!! I read somewhere that Billy is now worth something like 500 million cuz he's the most sampled artist in hip hopi!! Also, at one point like 6 of the top 10 selling downloads for guitar hero were Billy Squire songs.
Celebrity net worth says 60 million. Hey I'll take it lol
Wow, that's cool, about the sampling
(and the $ too) 😁
Let us pause for a moment and recognize the rock solid drumming of the late great Bobby Chouinard. Massively talented he also played with Cher, Ted Nugent and on Alice Cooper's "Trash" album.
This Santa Monica concert video is awesome... Ok, I admit, I know it like the back of my hand! The band is so tight and Billy's voice is spot on. Shreds that Les Paul. Such a fun show to watch. And yeah man...HOT. Sounds phenomenal. Pure rock and roll. RIP to those in the band no longer with us
The old saying. It only took 20 years to become an overnight success. He's got such a powerful voice people forget he's a great guitarist as well. Another great video Fil 👌
Billy Squier an awesome musician. Loved his vocal range and his playing. What a showman and character. He looks like a young Antonio Banderas. Thanks for the analysis Fil. Great job.
Raw energy and talent..not found these days.
When I was a kid Billy Squier sold out stadiums. Then the dreaded video for "Rock Me Tonight" came out. Over night he was back to playing clubs.
The first time I saw Billy and his band Piper they were opening on the KISS Rock and Roll Over tour.
I had to go look that up. Fast forwarded through it. Oh... dear. That was "cringey" long before its time!
I think his management was trying to capitalize on the glam metal trend that was huge around that time..
But yes, that video is a pure cringe fest...still like the song though..
@@Yesica1993 Years ago MTV had a special where musicians voted for the best and worst music videos in history. Rock Me Tonight was voted the worst. And it was unanimous. There were rappers and country artists that all knew the video ended Billy's career. The worst part is he didn't want to do it. He fought with the record company but in the end relented. Oddly the song was also #1 on the Billboard charts. But that video...
@@NuclearGrizzly
Oh, that's a shame! I'm an 80s kid, but I've only heard a couple of songs by him here & there. Couldn't have picked him out in a photo. I'm not sure how I missed him, and that video. Shame.
From watching this video, it's clear he was very talented. Darn, I miss big haired 80s rock!!!
The video was quite odd and annoying, but Billy's music style was also fading. The heavy guitar sound and big-bottom vocals was losing ground to synths and softer male singers of the Big 80s. I don't think "Rock Me Tonite" is on par with his prior rock singles, but ultimately I think he had a style and a sound which had a wonderful but brief moment in the pop-rock firmament. I love his music, and really can't see it lasting commercially longer than it did.
I seen Billy Squier in 82 and it was a fantastic concert. I always have loved his voice. He has a great Rock and Roll voice.💛
First concert ever was Billy opening up for Queen at Madison Square Garden, 1982.
First Billy Squier concert was him headlining with Def Leppard opening
Wow Fil, Billy Squier.. I'm 70 and I saw BS in 1981 perform the "Don't Say No" album and I remember thinking at
the time... this guy reminds me of Robert Plant. First saw Zeppelin in Toronto in 1969. Brilliant critique.
My first and only Zeppelin concert was in Phoenix in 1970 at the Coliseum. Some dirty dealer counterfeited a bunch of tickets that showed up at the entrance just before the show was supposed to start. I had decided to go on the spur of the moment. Concert was Friday night. Wednesday afternoon, I called the box office to see if any tickets were available. Lady says yes, they had plenty. So I lit up my '55 Eldorado convertible and cruised across Phoenix in the afternoon. It was a little warm, not bad. Anyway, I found this itty bitty shed / outhouse looking booth that had just the word "TICKETS" on it. Moseyed on up to it and the lady inside was happy as heck to sell me an official Coliseum ticket for Led Zeppelin two days from then. Price: $1.50. Horrible seat. High balcony behind the stage. $1.50. I certainly didn't feel like I was getting any kind of a bad deal. $1.50. Friday afternoon comes along and I have friends that are getting themselves together to carpool across town. They were all hyped up with anticipation of what a phenomenal concert it was going to be. I didn't let anyone know I was going, too. I didn't want a bunch of clowns riding to the show in my Caddy. Right after everyone got going, I lit up the Mafia mobile (black with a white convertible top) and headed to the show. I arrived with plenty of time to spare and was aware of some kind of growing disturbance behind me. It was the kids who had been screwed with counterfeit tickets. They started what was later described as a riot in the local news. I barely saw what transpired, with one exception. A security guard and a young guy (17-18?) got into a physical altercation in a manner that reminded me of dancing. As it happened, I was in exactly the right place. As the two spun around, I guess the cop either let go, or the kid pulled free. The inertia caused the kid to fly backward and into a huge plate glass window, releasing it from its attachments. Fortunately I wasn't in the shatter zone. Once that glass was broken, things got even crazier. I decided that I should get inside. I went to my seat and sat down. It certainly was above and behind the stage. I could barely see anything. The neat thing about all that is you're not compelled to stay in the seat. You can go to the bathroom. You can stroll around the entire area, which I did. From the walkway. I could look almost straight down on the band. As it turned out, there was trouble within the band. They were terrible. Jimmy didn't seem to be able to find the right chord. Robert's vocals were unintelligible, JPJ's bass lines were on the mark, but to no avail. Bonzo's drumming was hit and miss. He was apparently drunk. Did about half the solo from Moby Dick, grabbed a cup and slugged down whatever it was. He then turned away from the drum kit and immediately puked all over the backstage. I'm watching all this from my overhead vantage point. I strolled around the whole venue. As concerts go, this is the one that I can just about re-live every time I think about it. That buck fifty was the best bargain I ever had. $1.50. I still feel bad for the poor shmoes who were victims of the ticket scam. Lost all that money and got sent packing. I've seen a number of good to great concerts in my life, but none were nearly as much value as the Zeppelin show. Crappy performance. Awesome venue. And most importantly: $1.50 !!!
@@JW...-oj5iw : The shite we do when we were young, Memorable story. Zeppelin played twice in Toronto in1969.
All 3 shows at the Rockpile(2 shows on same night in August.) Held twelve hundred people.. $4.00.
I was dealing at the time so I was able to see the show from backstage. Be well.
@@JW...-oj5iw Also from Phoenix and loved the Coliseum. Saw Franki Valli there, Kenny Loggins, Anne Murray and many others. Good times!
@@hjkjbrown4118 ... The best performance I saw there was Creedence. They were so tight. Another concert I saw nearby in the fairgrounds was The First Edition, if you know who they were. As a whole, I much prefer Celebrity Theater. Saw Pablo Cruise and Manfred Mann together there. Absolutely great performances.
Led Zeppelin at the Rock Pile, by any chance?
Tanxx ! I miss The Drumming of Bobby Chouinard RIP
In high school alot of Stroke Me was going on in 81'..thanks Fil
Truth!
My 80's crush. Still my crush in 2023!
Hey! It's Dean Winchester's favorite rock song. It's in his playlist in "Supernatural" season 9, episode 14 This song sounds very Led Zepplinish
Very good point about the tonal qualities of BIlly's voice and guitar -Zeppelin was the musical lighthouse, a sonic North star, if you will, that a lot of that late 70's early 80's early singers guided themselves by. By the early 90's everyone dropped down an octave and went more growly. I'm not saying I'm revealing a deep secret but its a fair observation about that era of music.
Omg...
Now I know who you remind me of Fil!!
Billy Squier!!
I always thought you looked like someone I knew...now I know who it is..
That's a compliment btw..both of you are handsome, talented dudes..
I thought the same thing..when his hair is fluffed out..same nice build...😋
Young jimmy page to me
@@DTWC Cross between the two..🤔
Billy Squier could rock! Great guitarist and vocalist and excellent live! Saw him live in the early 80s. High energy show and tight band! We covered 'Everybody Wants You' in the early 80s in my band. Thanks Fil! Enjoyed this spot on analysis! 😎🎼🎶🎵🇨🇦
Master of guitar and lyrics, unreal energy. Love the respect you show for 70s. Appreciate your knowledge of music history. Thank you
Billy Squire is an actual musician
I hate the fact that ONE bad video treatment derailed the career of a TRUE musician and artist even though he had three straight platinum albums. Billy didn't have any idea MTv had that kind of power, no one did and he just followed what the video director wanted him to do, even though it took him out of everything we loved him for. I am surprised he didn't have control over that video, that is insane, if he had control I don't think that video ever gets made that way. He should have had a director that saw this live video, and captured Billy and his awesome band live playing. I will always appreciate Billy and this band and listen to his music. I appreciate your videos sir and expert explanations of playing, I would love to hear you talk about how they opened that show with In The Dark :)
I saw him open for Pat Benatar July 1981 in Calgary Canada. I was 19 and took my 16-year-old little sister, I think it was her first concert. Squier opened and put on a really good show but what really surprised me was how good Pat Benatars guitarist was.
Wow this brings back a lot of memories 💙🎸🎤💙 He has one of those voices you recognize the minute he opens his mouth 🤘🏼This would be a great song for you to cover!
The first time I heard his Christmas song “Christmas is a time to say I love you” I hadn’t heard, or heard of it, but as soon as he started singing I immediately knew it was him.
Billy absolutely deserves to be in rock hall of fame. Brilliant musician. Could do it all.
Hell yeah
Billy Squier was great, his band too. Used to listen to him on WBCN in Boston. He came from that area too. Glad to see he's worth 40 million now, he earned it. Great video!
I actually used to think a lot of his songs were zeppelin songs when i was younger. The vocals are similar and even the guitar playing is similar in some ways.. then i finally found out it was billy Squier. This is the first video I've ever seen of him live, i have a new respect for him.
Billys lead guitarist is no joke either .
When I first heard Billy Squire, I knew immediately that he was the real deal, the Don't Say No album was so great, that I kept loosing cassettes to friends, then the CD's disappeared too! From there on out I started keeping a closer watch on the albums I purchased! Loved the Don't say no album, which had this great song entitled "Too Dazed Gone, of which I put on repeat, and drove everyone around me crazy, so needless to say I absolutely loved Billy Squire, Always!!!
Squier
I had this on cassette back in 1982 !!!!!
I actually saw him play with a band called Piper. They warmed up for KISS I believe at the Madison Square Garden shows in 1977.
So underrated!
Memory train rolling down the track again Fil! Billy...what an amazing rocker he was! Stroke me was his cult song here down under! Man the guy could play and sing! The awesome 80s! Fantastic Fil! Cheers Mario! 😎🤘👌
Billy was the lead vocalist guitarist for a band called Piper which was not too different than Billy's solo work. Jeff Golub of Billy's solo band played with a lot of big rockers from the 80's music scene like Peter Wolf of the J Geils band and many others. Clearly, Billy's show in this clip is honed on a decade or more of stage work that culminated in his 1981 and 82 explosion on the rock scene. Billy was also a staple of MTV from 1981 to 1984 and his videos in that time where often premiered on MTV. Fil...good job pointing out the importance of a highly developed stage act of Billy Squire. The bands that auto tune do not learn what Billy did on the road.
Finally someone as smart as Fil gives the propers to one of my favorite artists! Thank God for Fil
Excellent analysis. I'd forgotten how vital Billy Squire was. Cheers
Great album, and I saw that tour. It was awesome. Next tour was awesome, too. I still love those two albums. He was a great performer at that time. Very distinctive vocalist with lots of energy. I also had a huge crush on him. 😂
In 2020 it is really hard to fully appreciate just how huge the success of Billy Squire had been in that 1981 to 1984 time period. I mean everything from MTV videos being premiered to Billy having a hit Christmas song on MTV. In fact, not taking anything away from Billy because he is great but MTV put his success on steroids and he went through the roof. I think the 1984 video that did his career in was directed by someone who had known his girlfriend. I think (if my memory is right) Billy said that he didn't feel good about the video as it was made but he went with it. He never anticipated the intensity of the backlash against the video though. Also, I thought I read somewhere that Billy had inked an extended record deal before the backlash so the record company had to stick with him. It's hard to fully appreciate just how massively successful Billy had been
One of the few greats I never saw, I'm 65 and saw many, many!
Me too, I regret it,
That 58 Burst sounds badass!
Loved, loved, loved him in high school. Always wanted to see him live. Thanks Fil for breaking down what I always loved about him including the Zeppelin influence.
My first experience with Billy Squier was "Everybody Wants You"- that song was HUGE when I was in middle school. I think it was possibly the first album I ever bought. Still have it, too. (It was either this, or John Cougar's first album. John Mellencamp for you younguns, lol) I was only 11 when this concert was recorded, but I'd have loved to be there! Billy and co were legit! Every live recording I've heard, they burned the joint down.
I remember the 8th grade cheerleaders doing a bit with “Everybody Wants You” first time I really noticed the importance of women in my life.
What talent! Thank you Wings Of Pegasus for sharing these wonderful videos along with your professional critiques! I've been away for awhile, struggling to finish my college classes with passing grades. Tonight I needed a break, and your critique of Billy Squire was much needed! Pure musicianship...oh what a nice break!
Good analogy in the voices and riffs between Squire, Plant......
I remember MTV showing this whole show on Saturday Night Concerts when MTV jammed 81- 92. Great show. I was 10 and already a music freak in 81’. Van Halen also caught my eye around this same time. Oh yeah I saw Billy in 84 with this lineup. Ratt opened. Still have the ticket stub. Lol great show also. That drummer jams .
Chuck Eddy said he thought Lonely is the Night was, in fact, a new Zeppelin song the first time he heard it on the radio.
Wow! Blast from the past. When I saw him, he opened for Queen and was amazing!
When Jeff was playing his solo he played note for note lonely is the night... I saw you smiling... This is right up your alley... Brotherrrrrrr.....
Thanks teach...
That video didn't ruin Billy Squier !!!! I'd still go see him !! He had some killer songs ! Killer band !!! I saw him with Def Leppard in 1983 one of the best concerts I saw !! Saw him again 1984 when he put out the Rock ME Tonight video . I never knew what some people said about the video . It wasn't my favorite but I wouldn't say it was a career stopper by far !! I'll always be a fan of his !!! Don't Say No one of Best Albums ever not a bad song !!! Billy Squier Fan forever !!!!
The comments on the "Rock Me Tonight" video on UA-cam are brutal. Great analysis Fil.
Impressive live sound for 1981.
The first time that I heard this song (WAAY back in the day), I thought that it was Robert Plant. I was impressed when I found out that it wasn’t.
I absolutely loved Billy Squire back in the day. I used to blast his songs while driving my Chevy Camaro. The drum beat and guitar in this song were awesome. I miss this kind of straight out rock. I know you are keeping it alive Fil through your music, keep ROCKIN'🤘
I don't envy you attempting to put your best interpretation possible on the career disaster that was the music video of "Rock Me Tonight". It was the start of the decline of record and ticket sales the way jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is the start of a return to the ground. I agree with your points about Billy Squire's vocals being reminiscent of other great rock singers such as David Coverdale and Robert Plant. And he had a deservedly good run in the music industry as a talented musician, songwriter, recording artist, and live performer as seen in the video you reviewed here. His band, as you point out, is really tight and the musicianship excellent by all members. The self titled album he and the band "Piper" recorded early in his career was considered by some the best debut record of a rock band. But his image with the arena rock audiences, who created and worshiped their rock gods from the mid-'70s through the big hair rockers of the late '80s, was challenged, to say the least, by the MTV tendency to encourage videos that were often out of sync with the music the way scenes from "The Monkeys" TV show or the Beatles movies "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" were acted to the artists' song tracks. The videos often, if not mostly, had nothing to do with the meaning of the song or its lyrics. But it could be that "Rock Me Tonight" just provided a concentrated exposure to Billy Squire's inability to dance to his own music, similar to the awkwardness of Bruce Springsteen, Barry Manilow, and others when they moved around on stage. You can see some of this in the performance above and others of his when he flaps his arms and kicks his feet up behind him in an odd way. When he is not trying to dance to his music, he delivers as solid a performance as any rock superstar. And while the director Kenny Ortega is rightfully blamed for the end product, no director could bring out those dance moves from a musician in a video if they did not come somewhat naturally. The setting, the theme, the preening in the mirror, etc were apparently the fault of Ortega's direction and concept for the video. Billy Squire's fans were thought to be turned off due to some degree of homophobia in a less enlightened time, which may be true in part, but also unfair to others. You do not have to be homophobic to recognize what are culturally considered "effeminate" mannerisms, and no matter how accepting of people for who they are, not wanting your rock idols to be prancing them around. It is shallow, but it is an image driven business in large part, despite the quality of the musicianship. Hopefully times have changed and a similar miscalculation would have a different result today.
Hi Fil, been a good while...life has been about keeping all the plates spinning for a minute,
i just wanted to share that i saw Billy Squier open for Queen in 1982 in Kansas City. Such great performance all night!
ABSOLUTELY! You are spot on with those Led Zeppelin comparisons, I was thinking that EXACT same thing while listening to this performance, both his Les Paul and his voice have those shades of Zeppelin in them.
When listening to this performance, you realize what's lacking in today's music...rippin guitar tone. It's awesome!👍😎🎸🎶
I remember this clip this from wnew FM radio station broadcasting his 1981 concert he was one heck of a guitarist and singer very Zeppelin influenced. This brings back high school memories.
Induct this man into the HOF already.. no one has ever sounded like Billy! 80s and 70s sound ..Killer
When I was 14, my dad and I saw Nazareth open for Billy Squier on the Emotions in Motion tour at Hara arena in Dayton ,Ohio .Great concert.
Billy was one of the first rockers that parents and teachers started worrying about what their tennaged daughters were gravitating torwards with the personal headphone craze; because of the lyrics, kids had to hide the tunes. Lol.
Not my mother. She loved rock music.
AC/DC is her favorite band.
When I was 9 years old, she bought me Rod Stewart's
*"Tonight's The Night"* on a 45 for Christmas that year. She never really listened to lyrics...
In the early eighties I was neighbors with Chris Robison, who was a member of the New York Dolls for a brief period. He was Billy's neighbor and taught him guitar. Chris tried to teach me to play the bass, but, alas, I have not one iota of musical talent in my bones.
Great analysis man! I was fortunate to be in high school in the late 70s/80s and there were so many great performers like Billy Squier who rocked hard and got massive radio air play, which helped them sell out stadiums and arenas worldwide. The cool thing was they were all rockers but still had their own unique sound/style due to the awesome singers singers and band set ups. As we got deeper into the 80s, so many lanes opened up for bands depending on how hard you wanted to rock...and they still got airplay!! The good old days in rock for sure!! ✌🏻🎸🎼
The bass player is Kenny Aronson. Doug Lubahn (who was also in Squire’s band) is a left handed bassist.
Lubahn, is worth looking into. He was a key element on many Doors records. Also played in an early fusion band he started with Billy Cobham, the Brecker brothers and John Abercrombie on guitar.
Wow! I forgot how fabulous Billy Squire is.
My 1st concert was billy squier back in 1982. He was a super accomplished musician with a distinctive voice who put on an awesome show. I was 12 years an old and rock and roll hooked me forever.
I was in 9th grade when I saw the Don't Say No tour. He's great in concert.
Me too!!!
I understand the Robert Plant reference. Although I have never thought about it before and have been a fan of BS and LZ for 40 years! LOL!
I saw Billy Squire live in 1983 at the "CENTRUM" in Worcester Massachusetts. Billy was awesome live! The Centrum is now the DCU Center but will always be known as the Centrum to all old enough to remember it.
Get this.... Billy Squire was the headlining act and Def Leppard was opening for him.
It would be absolutely the other way around today and Billy would be begging to open for Def Leppard. No disrespect to Billy Squire, he's a kick ass artist and a fellow Massachusetts homeboy. Def Leppard however soared way past him over the years and stayed popular.
Just noticed you mentioned Def leppard touring with Billy at the end of your video. HAHA thought it would be a factoid for you, but you did your homework. Regardless, I lived and saw it live when it happened. I'm thrilled to have experienced it!
Man I remember when he broke onto the scene I was about 12 -wow- what a time to be a kid and learning about music,girls and how they affect you, especially how every girl was madly in love with Billy and looked at all us pre pubescent boys like we were delusional! Lol Another great video Fil- you should take a look at some Triumph videos. Talk about another talented trio from Canada......they must have something in the water...or beer. Take it easy friends
1981... what memories!
I’ve always loved his music but love his live music.
1st time i've watched them live. i hear AND see a jimmy page influence. great showmanship.
YES, THANK YOU! Billy was so underrated! And the parachute pants!!
..... Makes you harken back to the 80's, ... The realness of it all ... No Auto Tune.,no backing track ... Pure talent and God given gifts . I saw him perform once , and you CAN hear the influences of Robert Plant, and a few others, . .. in the vocals, hints of the tone of other musicians. . But not " mimicing" those artists. He was definitely dedicated to his art and to his craft ...... As were the other members , as well.
Brilliant analysis, Dr. Fil...... 🙂👌💛🎶🎶
Billy was at his zenith when I was at Lowry AFB for tech school, and then the infamous pink t-shirt if you believe it.