Day 127: Your favorite song beginning with “E”.

“Everybody Wants You” – Billy Squier

Billy Squier was one of those guys whose career was white hot in the early 80s and then flashed out very quickly. Between 1981 and 1984 he had three multi-platinum albums, a bunch of popular singles, and was an MTV staple.

And then he was gone. *Poof* Like a wisp of smoke on a breezy day… Like a sand castle against the tide… Like a Buffalo Wing in my hand…

Well, not truly gone, of course. Not dead. But after those three records, you didn’t hear much about him. He actually released a number of albums after that, but no one seemed to care; he was never quite as popular again.

I somehow lump Billy Squier in the same category as Eddie Money. Same sort of thing. (Although Billy Squier has not—as of yet—lowered himself to warbling a past hit in an insurance company commercial.)

At any rate, “Everybody Wants You” was a big hit, reaching #32 on the “Hot 100” and #1 on the Billboard “Mainstream Rock” chart. It was not as popular as “The Stroke” but still not too shabby.

But I will forever remember it as “The Constipation Song.”

Now, bear in mind, I was twelve when this song was popular. Potty humor is king at that age. (Well, for men it’s every age, really. But even more so at twelve.)

For the uninitiated, at various points through the song, for emphasis, for effect, for something, Billy throws in these… grunts. (That’s the best way I can describe it. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to figure out how to spell the noise out.) All my 12-year-old could think of was that it sure sounded like he was trying—apparently unsuccessfully given the number of grunts—to pass something. (Had it been “The Stroke” I might have assumed the grunts meant something else entirely.)

The thought made me laugh. It made my friends laugh. And 30-some years later, that’s still something I remember about the song. I mean it’s not my first thought when it comes on (okay, yes it is) but it’s not the only thought.

These days Billy’s pushing 65. He’s still performing, but at that age, you begin to wonder. Do those grunts mean something different than they used to?

I guess certain things you just can’t shake. (Oh, wait, that’s “The Stroke” again.)