Don't Say No

Don't Say No
Studio album by Billy Squier
Released	1981
Genre	Rock, hard rock
Length	38:11
Producer	Mack and Billy Squier
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Billy Squier chronology
Tale of the Tape (1980) Don't Say No (1981) Emotions In Motion (1982)

Don't Say No was the second album by Billy Squier, released in 1981. It was one of Squier's biggest albums, including the hits "In the Dark", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover" and "The Stroke". The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard album chart, and it remained on those charts for 111 weeks^[1].

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

Second single "In The Dark" followed "The Stroke" into the Top 40 on the pop chart, and the Top 10 at rock radio. "Lonely Is The Night" was released only to rock radio, where it hit #28 nationally. Fourth single was "My Kinda Lover", which narrowly missed the pop Top 40 and peaked at #31 at rock radio.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA for 500,000 sales in July 1981 and Platinum two months later. Though multi-platinum awards weren't certified prior to 1984, Don't Say No received a Triple-Platinum award in 1992, certifying sales of at least three million copies, making it Squier's best-selling album in the U.S.

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.

Track listing

• All Songs Written By Billy Squier.

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" - 4:20
9. "I Need You" - 3:52
10. "Don't Say No" - 3:20

Personnel

• Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano
• Cary Sharaf: Guitars
• Alan St. Jon: Keyboards
• Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals
• Bobby Chouinard: Drums

Production

• Billy Squier: Producer
• Mack: Producer, Engineer

Later Samples

• "The Stroke"
  • "Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead

References