Billy Squier — Music Videos

Billy Squier is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose recordings connect the riff-driven rock of the 1970s with the concise production and visual culture of the early 1980s. His strong, rough-edged lead vocal often sits against a deliberately uncluttered instrumental pattern.

The 1981 album Don’t Say No includes “The Stroke,” “In the Dark,” and “My Kinda Lover.” “The Stroke” is especially recognizable for its heavy rhythmic emphasis and the space left between its short vocal and instrumental statements.

Squier’s music demonstrates how an economical arrangement can feel large without becoming crowded. Listen to the relationship between the drums and the guitar accents, and to how backing voices give the chorus a different scale from the lead passages.