Billy Squier-Don´t Say No (1981)

Billy Squier is a guitarist and vocalist from Boston who had notable success in the 1980s, some of which reached number one on the Billboard charts and chart high in numerous countries. As early as 1977, he had opened for Kiss with his band Piper, and a year earlier his self-titled debut album, "Piper", was a record of exceptional quality, as was his second and final album, "Can't Wait", released a year later. Squier's immense talent on the guitar, combined with his distinctive voice, did not go unnoticed by the talent scouts at Capitol Records, with whom he signed in 1979 to record his first solo album, "The Tale of the Tape". Released in 1980, it launched his meteoric rise thanks to tracks like "You Should Be High Love". In 1981, Billy Squier released "Don't Say No", his second and arguably best album. To achieve this, he got rid of the entire band with whom he had recorded "The Tale of the Tape", with the exception of the excellent drummer Bobby Chouinard. Interestingly, one of those dismissed was guitarist Bruce Kulick, who some time later would become a member of the legendary Kiss. "Don't Say No" soared to the top, opening the doors to a genre of rock whose presence on mainstream radio stations was not very common. With this album, Squier proved that melodic hard rock was not incompatible with commercial success. It was a record that also paved the way for the bands that, in the mid-80s, exploded onto the world rock scene. The imposing and memorable melodies that slipped in between the rock of early 80s American FM radio and the new hair metal that emerged in the mid-80s, thanks to the enormous work of numerous musicians like Billy Squier, with their many powerful yet accessible riffs and solos, caused a sensation around the world during those years. The following years would bring other hits such as "Everybody Wants You" (82) "Rock Me Tonight" (84) "Don't Say You Love Me" (89) or "She Goes Down" (91), his last great success before falling into oblivion with inconsistent and more predictable works.