"Everybody Wants You" is a hit song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the opening track of his multi-Platinum 1982 album Emotions in Motion, and was released as the second single (following the title track) from that album, reaching #31 on the Cash Box Top 100 and #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became, however, a much bigger hit on AOR (Album Oriented Rock) radio, gridlocking the top spot of Mainstream Rock charts for six weeks straight. The song's music video also remained in heavy rotation for months on MTV.
| "Everybody Wants You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Billy Squier | ||||
| from the album Emotions in Motion | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | September 14, 1982 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:46 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Squier | |||
| Producer(s) | Reinhold Mack Billy Squier | |||
| Billy Squier singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Details
editThe song features three guitars and a bass playing a "hard-rocking and funky" riff, and a "sleekly new wave-oriented production".[2] It became a huge hit on both radio and MTV,[3] topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts for six weeks, from August 28 to October 8, 1982.[4] It was also on the pop charts, debuting on the Billboard Top 40 on November 27, 1982 and peaking at number 32.[5] It was Squier's third Top-40 song, following "The Stroke" (number 17) and "In the Dark" (number 35).[5]
"Everybody Wants You" is included on Squier's 1995 greatest hits collection 16 Strokes: The Best of Billy Squier.[2]
"Everybody Wants You" was one of the songs Squier has performed live with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band; one version appeared on the Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live 2006 album, along with Squier's 1984 hit "Rock Me Tonite".[6]
Chart history
edit| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| US Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 26 |
| South Africa (Springbok)[7] | 13 |
Covers
editThe song has been covered by artists such as the American hard rock bands Puddle of Mudd, Damone[8] and The Unband, whose version appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Scary Movie.[9]
Canadian indie rock band Tokyo Police Club performed a version of the song in August 2010 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[10]
In popular culture
editThe song was used as The Fabulous Ones' (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) entrance theme during their time in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association from 1982 to 1985.
The 1983 film Bad Boys uses it in the start of the movie where Sean Penn sits in his room strumming guitar with this song playing on his radio , his mother tells him to turn it down and he just turns up the volume.
The song was used in the episode 13 (title: 'Standards and Practices') of season 1 of the drama The Closer.[citation needed]
In 2004, a mashup of "Everybody Wants You" and "Emerge" by Fischerspooner was included on the Queer Eye soundtrack.[11]
The song is used the first couple seasons of the TV show Burn Notice, including being used in a promotional ad for the second season.[12]
The song is used in the 2012 film Battleship.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Talevski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-8460-9091-2.
Later joining Billy Squier's hard rock group in the late Seventies, [Bobby] Chouinard appeared on the hard-rock anthems 'Everybody Wants You', 'In The Dark', and 'The Stroke'.
- ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Billy Squier: Everybody Wants You". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Billy Squier: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (February 1, 2003). Joel Whitburn's rock tracks. Record Research Inc. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-89820-153-6. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 594. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ^ "Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live 2006". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Damone: Everybody Wants You". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ "Unband: Everybody Wants You". allmusic. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ "Tokyo Police Club covers Billy Squier". Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ^ Jeffries, David (2004). "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - Original TV Soundtrack". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
- ^ "BURN NOTICE: SEASON 2". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19.