Don't Say No (Billy Squier album)

Last updated
Don't Say No
Billy Squier - Don't Say No.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 13, 1981
Recorded1980
Genre
Length38:11
Label Capitol
Producer Reinhold Mack, Billy Squier
Billy Squier chronology
The Tale of the Tape
(1980)
Don't Say No
(1981)
Emotions in Motion
(1982)
Singles from Don't Say No
  1. "The Stroke"
    Released: May 1981
  2. "In the Dark"
    Released: August 1981
  3. "My Kinda Lover"
    Released: November 1981
  4. "Too Daze Gone"
    Released: 1981 (only in UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

Don't Say No is the second studio album by Billy Squier, released on April 13, 1981. It stands as Squier's biggest career album, including the hits "Lonely Is the Night", "In the Dark", "My Kinda Lover" and "The Stroke". The album hit the Top Five on the Billboard album chart and remained on the chart for over two years (111 weeks). [2]

Contents

"The Stroke" was the first single, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and an even bigger hit at rock radio, hitting number 3 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song even dented the British Pop charts, rising to number 52. The video for "The Stroke" — as most of the music videos from both Don't Say No and its follow-up, Emotions In Motion — is a straight-ahead performance piece, featuring Squier on an arena stage. Billy's many videos were staples on the then brand-new channel known as MTV which brought him increased popularity.

"In the Dark" followed "The Stroke" into the Billboard Top 40, and the Top 10 of the Album Rock Tracks chart. Some other tracks from the album were also hugely popular on AOR (Album Oriented Rock) radio stations, for example, "Lonely Is the Night", which became subsequently one of his signature songs despite not being a proper single release or having a music video.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA for 500,000 sales in July 1981 and Platinum two months later. Though multi-platinum awards were not certified prior to 1984, Don't Say No belatedly received a Triple Platinum award in 1992, certifying sales of over 3 million US copies.

A cover of "Lonely Is the Night" is a playable track in the PlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and the master recording is playable in Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 4 .

On July 27, 2010 Shout! Factory released a 30th Anniversary edition of the album complete with newly remastered sound, bonus tracks, and a new booklet.

In early 2018, Intervention Records reissued Don't Say No on 180-gram vinyl and SACD/CD. [3] The reissue is Artist-Approved and according to Squier "arguably the best-sounding version ever." [4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Squier

No.TitleLength
1."In the Dark"4:09
2."The Stroke"3:38
3."My Kinda Lover"3:32
4."You Know What I Like"2:56
5."Too Daze Gone"4:05
6."Lonely Is the Night"4:42
7."Whadda You Want from Me"3:43
8."Nobody Knows" (dedicated to John Lennon)4:20
9."I Need You"3:52
10."Don't Say No"3:20
Total length:38:11
30th Anniversary Edition
No.TitleLength
11."My Kinda Lover" (Live 2009) 
12."The Stroke" (Live 2009) 
13.Untitled (Rock Mix) 

Personnel

Production

Later samples

Charts

Album

Chart (1981)Peak
position [5]
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] 34
U.S. Billboard 2005
CAN4
Year End Chart (1981)Peak [7]
U.S. Billboard 20045
Year End Chart (1982)Peak [8]
U.S. Billboard 20023

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positions
US US
AOR
CAN
1981"The Stroke" [A] 1737
"In the Dark"35722
"Lonely Is the Night"28
"My Kinda Lover"4531

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References

  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Don't Say No – Billy Squier : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  2. "Billy Squier on the Billboard charts". Billboard . Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  3. "Intervention Records will release Billy Squier's "Don't Say No" album on hybrid SACD". www.quadraphonicquad.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  4. "Billy Squier". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  5. "Billy Squier". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 289. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Top Billboard 200 of 1981". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  8. "Top Billboard 200 of 1982". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2020.