{"id":44858,"date":"2010-10-12T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2010-10-12T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:01:22","slug":"gonzos-gems-dont-say-no-when-it-comes-to-billy-squier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=44858","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo\u2019s Gems:  \u201cDon&#039;t Say No\u201d When it Comes to Billy Squier"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031 \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5032\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" title=\"BS Head shot\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/BS-Head-shot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I remember standing in a record store, sifting through record albums when I first heard \u201cThe Stroke\u201d by Billy Squier. \u201cNow everybody\u2026 have you heard\u2026 if you\u2019re in the game\u2026 then strokes the word\u2026\u201d The song and it\u2019s lyrics had my immediate attention. It was catchy and it rocked. So much so, that on the strength of that one song alone, I purchased the \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d album and took it home.<!--more--> I played it a couple of times from start to finish and came to the conclusion that not a bad track could be found on the entire album. Along with \u201cThe Stroke\u201d, you had another great rocker, \u201cWhadda You Want From Me.\u201d The attitude of the song was summed up by it\u2019s lyrics, \u201cI am who I am\u2026 whadda you want from me\u2026\u201d. You also had the beautiful and poignant ballad \u201cNobody Knows\u201d, sung in a high falsetto and dedicated to the life of John Lennon.<\/p>\n<p>Born on May 12, 1950, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Billy Squier began playing piano at the age of 9 with his grandfather\u2019s tutelage. After two years of banging away at the piano keys, Billy\u2019s interest turned to the guitar, which he then mastered by the age of 15. He cut his teeth playing in several bands in the Boston area and the early 70s found him spending his time, following his musical pursuits between Boston and New York. He recorded and released his solo debut, \u201cTale Of The Tape\u201d in 1980, which gave him a somewhat successful rock radio hit with \u201cYou Should Be High Love\u201d. But it was the following year, with his second album, \u201cDon\u2018t Say No\u201c, that Billy experienced his big commercial breakthrough.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\" rel=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5034\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" title=\"DSN (Copy)\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/DSN-Copy1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>A couple of nights after purchasing \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d, I grabbed a handful of albums, placing my new Billy Squier record album in the middle and headed off to a party. A few hours into the party, I saw the chance to make my move. Like a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll ninja I moved quickly and silently. Covertly, I pulled out the \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d album, placed it on the stereo turntable and lined up the needle in the groove between \u201cIn The Dark\u201d and \u201cThe Stroke\u201c. Time to strike! I hit the play button and as \u201cThe Stroke\u201d launched out of the speakers I stood back to watch the reactions in the room. Judging from all the smiles and head nods across the room it was an instant hit. As the album continued playing through the remainder of songs, I heard one female party goer comment, \u201cWho is that? He rocks hard!\u201d Yes, Virginia, yes indeed he does.<\/p>\n<p>Then came 1982\u2019s \u201cEmotion In Motion\u201d. It picked up right where \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d left off. With the first track, the ears were treated to \u201cEverybody Wants You\u201d. As with all of Billy\u2019s great songs, it contained a great guitar riff, catchy beat and cool lyrics. Billy was still on a roll. \u201cEverybody Wants You\u201d, \u201cLearn How To Live\u201d, \u201cShe\u2018s A Runner\u201c and \u201cEmotions In Motion\u201d received plenty of rock radio play. My second favorite tune, \u201cEmotions In Motion\u201d was a mid-tempo rocker that smoldered in it\u2019s own heat. Some time after the albums release, I was in my hometown on vacation. I borrowed my brother\u2019s truck to visit my hometown pals. When I started up the truck the boogie woogie tinged, \u201cKeep Me Satisfied\u201d blared out of the speakers. \u201cEmotions In Motion\u201d was loaded in his cassette player. I smiled. My brother rocked!<\/p>\n<p>1984 saw the release of \u201cSigns Of Life\u201d. The album featured keyboards prominently throughout the album and it introduced the Top 15 hit, \u201cRock Me Tonite\u201d. Though \u201cRock Me Tonite\u201d was the hit, I found \u201cAll Night Long\u201d an even stronger tune. It had that familiar guitar sound and catchy beat, but the icing on the cake was the underlying keyboards which added an eerie feel to the song. Overall, \u201cSigns Of Life\u201d was a pretty good album, but it was missing the over-the-top bravura of Billy\u2019s two previous albums.<\/p>\n<p>Recorded and released two years later, \u201cEnough Is Enough\u201d sounded much more polished than Billy\u2019s previous efforts. \u201cShot O\u2019 Love\u201d, \u201cLady With The Tenor Sax\u201d and \u201cCome Home\u201d were the gems here. Billy\u2019s collaboration with Queen\u2018s Freddie Mercury on \u201cLady With A Tenor Sax\u201d produced a cool song with equally cool lyrics: \u201cHere she come now\u2026 she tunes so fine\u2026 there\u2019s a lady with a tenor sax\u2026 cool baby drives a mean Cadillac\u2026 lady with a tenor sax\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHear &amp; Now\u201d, released in 1989, was a confident, guitar-oriented album which rocked harder than the two previous albums. In fact, \u201cHear &amp; Now\u201d probably comes closest in replicating the sound and feel of his two most successful albums, \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d and \u201cEmotions In Motion\u201d. It featured the singles, \u201cDon\u2019t Say You Love Me\u201d and \u201cTied Up\u201d. The other standout was the mid-tempo rocker, \u201cThe Work Song\u201d. You gotta love the way Billy enthusiastically sings, \u201cRoll with the mob\u2026 dance to the rhythm\u2026 give all you got and take what you\u2018re given\u2026 work, baby work\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The momentum continued with 1991\u2019s \u201cCreatures Of Habit\u201d. An encouraging release, it opens up with the song, \u201cYoung At Heart\u201d. And \u201cYoung At Heart\u201d starts with a bed of distorted guitar notes upon which the following cryptic words are spoken: \u201cSo, you say you owe the hands of time\u2026 if you don\u2018t look now, you got no buy\u2026 Jack and Jill conquered the hill\u2026 but even still\u2026 they had to pay the bill\u2026\u201d. Now a guitar riff and drum beat greet us and plunge us headlong into the remainder of the song. Nice start! Up next, the risqu\u00e9 \u201cShe Goes Down\u201d, pushed the envelope slightly with it\u2018s tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Released as a single, it was a good and naughty rocker. But my favorite cut was \u201cStrange Fire\u201d with it\u2019s tasty guitar riff and energy aplenty. The infectious melody and sing-a-long chorus put it over the top.<\/p>\n<p>Capitol Records released \u201cTell The Truth\u201d in 1993. Billy recorded \u201cTell The Truth\u201d all over New York city, using a myriad of recording studios and gave each track large doses of creativity, effort and care. The result was an album filled with intricate, yet catchy songs. It was Billy\u2019s strongest artistic effort to date. The gems were \u201cTryin\u2019 To Walk A Straight Line\u201d, \u201cRhythm\/(A Bridge So Far)\u201d and \u201cTime-Bomb\u201d. \u201cTime Bomb\u201d is a great song with an ominous feel to it. As strong as the entire album was, Capitol Records completely overlooked \u201cTell The Truth\u201d and afforded it not one iota of support. It became Billy\u2019s last album for Capitol as he parted ways with them after a 12 year musical relationship.<\/p>\n<p>Five years later, in 1998, Billy returned out of the blue with a solo acoustic effort entitled, \u201cHappy Blue\u201d. It deviated radically from the style of music Billy\u2019s fans were used to. There was no bass, drums or electric guitar, just Billy on an acoustic guitar playing stripped down music steeped heavily in the blues. If the blues is your cup of tea, you\u2019ll enjoy this release. Straight off, with the opening track, \u201cHappy Blues\u201d, Billy proves he\u2019s a very capable blues guitarist. And with the acoustic blues rendition of \u201cThe Stroke\u201d retitled, \u201cStroke Me Blues\u201c, Billy shows us a completely different side of his biggest hit. And the less bluesy \u201cMore Than Words Can Say\u201d is a beautiful acoustic song. Give \u201cHappy Blue\u201d a few listens and you\u2019ll find that it grows on you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\" rel=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5035\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" title=\"BS today\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/BS-today.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>Billy Squier\u2018s creative songwriting, emotive voice and impressive guitar playing has created a vast array of hard rock gems and catchy rock anthems. And \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d remains Billy\u2019s biggest success, spawning the ever bombastic \u201cThe Stroke\u201d. Just this year, the 30 year anniversary edition of \u201cDon\u2018t Say No\u201d was released, completely remastered and containing two live bonus tracks. What do I say to that? I say, \u201cNow everybody\u2026 have you heard\u2026 if you\u2019re in the game\u2026 then strokes the word\u2026\u201d. Remember \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d. Rock out!<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\" rel=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5031\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5164\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" title=\"gonzoheader2\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gonzoheader2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>(CDs) \u201cDon\u2018t Say No\u201d and \u201cEmotions In Motion\u201c<br \/>\n(Songs) The Stroke, Whadda You Want From Me, Nobody Knows, Everybody Wants You, Emotions In Motion, Keep Me Satisfied, All Night Long, Shot O\u2019 Love, Lady With The Tenor Sax, Come Home, Don\u2019t Say You Love Me, Tied Up,The Work Song, Young At Heart, She Goes Down, Strange Fire, Tryin\u2019 To Walk A Straight Line, Rhythm\/(A Bridge So Far) and Time-Bomb<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Welcome To The &quot;Bad&quot; Brad Berkwitt Show\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SI1AfkBrG3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F44858\" data-token=\"d32f2f7edbd2053a12d6fbe465607777\" data-token-time=\"1779614606\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Message Name or<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; display: inline !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; z-index: -1000 !important; padding: 0 !important; } #wpforms-126533-field_4-container input { visibility: hidden; } #wpforms-conversational-form-page #wpforms-126533-field_4-container label { counter-increment: none; }' ) );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.head.appendChild( style );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.currentScript?.remove();\n\t\t\t\t} )();\n\t\t\t<\/script><\/div><!-- .wpforms-field-container --><div class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-container wpforms-is-recaptcha wpforms-is-recaptcha-type-v2\" ><div class=\"g-recaptcha\" data-sitekey=\"6LeyxF8eAAAAALCgKefmpigcK22wWdwPbUdyB_q8\"><\/div><input type=\"text\" name=\"g-recaptcha-hidden\" class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-hidden\" style=\"position:absolute!important;clip:rect(0,0,0,0)!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border:0!important;overflow:hidden!important;padding:0!important;margin:0!important;\" data-rule-recaptcha=\"1\"><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-submit-container\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"wpforms[id]\" value=\"126533\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_title\" value=\"\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_url\" value=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44858\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"url_referer\" value=\"\"><button type=\"submit\" name=\"wpforms[submit]\" id=\"wpforms-submit-126533\" class=\"wpforms-submit\" data-alt-text=\"Sending...\" data-submit-text=\"Submit\" aria-live=\"assertive\" value=\"wpforms-submit\">Submit<\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wpforms-lite\/assets\/images\/submit-spin.svg\" class=\"wpforms-submit-spinner\" style=\"display: none;\" width=\"26\" height=\"26\" alt=\"Loading\"><\/div><\/form><\/div>  <!-- .wpforms-container -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales I remember standing in a record store, sifting through record albums when I first heard \u201cThe Stroke\u201d by Billy Squier. \u201cNow everybody\u2026 have you heard\u2026 if you\u2019re in the game\u2026 then strokes the word\u2026\u201d The song and it\u2019s lyrics had my immediate attention. It was catchy and it rocked. So much [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1926,1923,1924,1927,1913,1283,522,605,1925,1922],"class_list":["post-44858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-album","tag-billy-squier","tag-dont-say-no","tag-gems","tag-gonzo","tag-john-lennon","tag-music","tag-review","tag-rocker","tag-the-stroke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44858"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}