Whatever Happened to Billy Squier
If you had a radio, a Camaro, or a mullet in the early ’80s, chances are you rocked out to Billy Squier at some point. He was the guy, the guitar-slinging, fist-pumping rock god behind “The Stroke,” “My Kinda Lover” and “Everybody Wants You.”
Billy had everything: looks, riffs, a killer voice and stadium-filling swagger. For a while, he was running neck-and-neck with the big boys Def Leppard, Van Halen, even early Bryan Adams. His 1981 album Don’t Say No went Triple Platinum, his videos were MTV gold, women loved him, guys wanted to be him and his shows were full-on rock circuses.
But then…it all fell apart.
The Music Video That Killed the Rock Star
It was 1984 when Billy put out a song called “Rock Me Tonite.” Good song. Then came the video and all was changed. For the worse.
Instead of a raunchy rock performance, we were subjected to Billy cavorting around in a pink tank top, doing interpretive dance numbers on satin sheets. It was cringeworthy. It was weird and it was career suicide.
His die-hard fans, rock guys, for the most part, abandoned him overnight. Radio lost interest. MTV retreated. Billy Squier was no longer the hard rocker — he was the joke.
What Went Wrong?
Truth is, Billy didn’t even direct the video. The label pushed it and he trusted the wrong individuals. The result? One of the biggest backfires in rock history. Even though the music continued to be good and the damage was done. By the late ’80s, Billy had vanished from the frontlines.
Where Is He Now?
