SAMMY HAGAR SLAMS DAVID LEE ROTH’s "BULLSHIT" STAGE PERSONA

[Rikk]

As I remember Bill Aucoin the Kiss manager passed on the Simmons VH demo so he could sign Squiers.

I don't think I've knowingly ever heard one of his songs...

I know one. It played all the time when I was a kid on the radio. I did not like it. Something about "everybody wants some" or something...and I don't mean VH...

[FORD]

As I remember Bill Aucoin the Kiss manager passed on the Simmons VH demo so he could sign Squiers.

I don't think I've knowingly ever heard one of his songs...

If I remember correctly, Squier's band "Piper" made two albums, which were pretty much ignored. I can't remember ever actually seeing either album nor hearing any of the songs from them.

If this is any indication, I'm guessing they were a generic mid-70s Zeppelin/Aerosmith wannabe rock band....

[FORD]

I wonder if Joe Walsh ever heard that song? I'd say he has grounds to sue for copyright infringement. That opening riff is like "Funk 49" on speed.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Who is Sammy Hagar?

There used to be an automatic answer to that question if I remember well.

[Seshmeister]

Never think of him and then appears twice in a few weeks...

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/billy-squier-rock-me-tonite-video/?fbclid=IwAR3eT1Em3eLU3Xzo6Dnb9_RuLMFFFJlCtgoPozezG6ds54dY32dHogkZ_ro

Billy Squier spent the early '80s on a hot streak, releasing two multi-platinum Top 5 albums (1981's Don't Say No and 1982's Emotions in Motion) in a two-year span. For a brief while, it looked like he'd end up being one of the biggest rock acts of the '80s — and then, in the summer of 1984, it all came crashing down when he released one of the worst videos ever made.

Anyway, that's the story that's been built up around Squier's short-lived ascent to the top of the sales heap, and on the surface, it seems to make sense. Don't Say No and Emotions in Motion sold a combined five million copies, and initially, it looked like his 1984 follow-up, Signs of Life, might be an even bigger success; the record's lead-off single, "Rock Me Tonite," gave him a No. 1 rock hit and peaked at No. 15 on Billboard's Hot 100.



Unfortunately for Squier, like most singles of the day, "Rock Me Tonite" came with a video — and this particular video proved so hilariously awful that it's generally credited with sinking his entire career. Helmed by choreographer and future film director Kenny Ortega — working, according to Squier, from a concept he developed that was inspired by the visual aesthetic Paul Schrader used in Richard Gere's American Gigolo — it depicts Squier flailing effeminately around a pastel-lit bedroom and writhing on satin sheets.

According to conventional wisdom, the clip was so outrageously out of step with what rock fans were willing to tolerate that it stalled the single, derailed his 1984 tour and permanently cooled his momentum as a recording artist.

It's true that Signs of Life "only" went platinum, a relative disappointment following the wild success of its two immediate predecessors, and his next four major-label releases offered a study in sales decline: 1986's Enough Is Enough peaked at No. 61, 1989's Hear & Now at No. 64, 1991's Creatures of Habit at No. 117 and 1993's Tell the Truth failed to chart completely. There's no arguing "Rock Me Tonite" served as a Top 40 turning point for Squier's career; to date, it remains his last mainstream hit single.

Watch Billy Squier's 'Rock Me Tonite' Video

Billy Squier "Rock Me Tonite"

The pop audience may have deserted Squier, but he continued to score sizable rock hits into the '90s. All 10 of the singles he released following "Rock Me Tonite" made the Top 40 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, and two (1989's "Don't Say You Love Me" and 1991's "She Goes Down") hit the Top 5 — all of which undermines the argument that the "Rock Me Tonite" video was somehow responsible for destroying Squier's credibility with rock listeners who were unwilling to support artists who acted less than macho.

It's also difficult to make that argument with anyone who remembers the music of the era. The early '80s may be chiefly remembered for glossy, androgynous pop acts like Culture Club or Duran Duran, but plenty of male rockers also experimented with makeup and sassy dance moves — and that isn't even taking into account the flamboyant image and stage presence of earlier acts like Queen or Elton John.

Just a quick scan through the top rock hits of 1983 and 1984 is all you need to find evidence that Squier was hardly alone in filming cheesy, low-budget or gender-bending videos. There's no denying that "Rock Me Tonite" is a terrible video, or that Squier looks foolish during pretty much every moment of the clip, but his flailing is no less dignified than Billy Idol's in "Eyes Without a Face" or Paul Stanley's in Kiss' clip for "Heaven's on Fire."

Perhaps he didn't look like the most masculine fellow, but neither did Mötley Crüe in the "Looks That Kill" video, or REO Speedwagon (in drag!) in "I Do' Wanna Know." A satin-clad bed is a dumb prop, but is it worse than invisible instruments?

And hey, two other rock legends managed to escape an even sillier — and far less masculine — video debacle relatively unscathed:



Read More: Did the 'Rock Me Tonite' Video Destroy Billy Squier's Career? | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bill...edium=referral

[Seshmeister]

LOL it's Richard Simmons rock...

[FORD]

I actually forgot how gay that video was

[Nitro Express]

I actually forgot how gay that video was

The video sucked but other acts had sucky videos as well. Van Halen’s Pretty Woman video was pretty stupid. Squire’s real problem was his songs didn’t stand out that much and there were plenty of great songs coming out then. You either have the stardust or you don’t. Billy Squire was boring. You have to grab attention and hold it. He just didn’t have it.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Billy's queer...

Funny how threads about Hagar will end up this way.

[Kristy]

He's not queer. He's over hetero if anything unlike you rabid homophobes. He's no different than your homoerotic obsession Roth in that both are burnt-out 80s/MTV icons who by the looks of them both drank too much, had a short addiction to meth and coke and ego-tripped themselves right out other careers into what they are now: lame-ass nostalgia tour acts. Roth can't sing worth a shit and Billy can't play guitar worth a shit. Both of them look like homeless street urchins except that Billy got himself a shave and a buzzcut and joined the Aryan Movement.

Here's a test for you cretins: guess the queer in the photo and win a prize of being a cretin:

[Nickdfresh]

None of the above. But I agree Squire isn't gay, he was just desperate to complete with Top 40 and even the emerging hip hop by being some sort of sex symbol as young women mostly ignored hard rock. Van Halen was one of the few bands that attracted a consistent female following and had a lot of women at their concerts. I think Squire is more creepy on the side of allegedly banging underage girls IIRC...

[Jérôme Frenchise]

I was just making an easy pun. The video is gay, that's for sure.

As for DLR's posturing and outfits, they were meant for attracting girls. Any teen boy back in the glory days wanted to be Dave.

[twonabomber]

Squire is supposedly one of the most sampled artists, mostly the drum tracks and sounds.

[Seshmeister]

So the bits that he isn't on?

[Jérôme Frenchise]

The vid, and the music is absolute BS too, like his initials.
Never heard anything else he did, BTW.