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
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Kristy
