Squeeze Box (song)

"Squeeze Box"
Single by The Who
from the album The Who By Numbers
B-side	Success Story
Released	October 1975
Recorded	30 May 1975 on the Shepperton Studios' soundstage using Ronnie Lane's mobile studio
Genre	Rock
Length	2:42
Label	Polydor Records (UK) MCA Records (U.S.)
Writer(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer	Glyn Johns
The Who singles chronology
"Long Live Rock" (1974) (Italy, Israel & Japan) "Squeeze Box" (1975) "Slip Kid" (1976) (US)

"Squeeze Box" is a song by The Who. It peaked at #10 on the UK charts and #16 in the US. The song was also a #1 hit in Australia and Canada and reached #2 on the Irish charts. "Squeezebox" is a slang term for accordions and related instruments. The song's lyrics consist exclusively of sexual innuendo (She goes in and out and in and out, as an example). Written by Pete Townshend, the song was originally intended for a Who television special planned in 1974.

Live performances

The song was first performed live at the New Bingley Hall in Stafford on 3 October 1975 and remained in the set for the rest of the 1975-1976 tour until drummer Keith Moon's final North American concert at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 21 October 1976. The band later played it again in the last leg of the 1982 Tour, but have not performed it since. Townshend himself played the banjo on the track, as well as the accordion.

Cover versions

"Squeeze Box"
Single by Poison
from the album Hollyweird
Released	2002
Recorded	2002
Genre	Rock
Poison singles chronology
"Rockstar" (2001) "Squeeze Box" (2002) "Shooting Star" (2003)

• The song is covered by English squeezebox players John Kirkpatrick and Chris Parkinson on their album Sultans of Squeeze.
• Roxy Blue did a version on their 1992 album Want some?
• Poison did a version of the song and released it as a single on the album Hollyweird in 2002. This was re-released in 2007 on their album Poison'd, where all the tracks are cover songs.
• Bobby Dall on The Who cover “Squeeze Box”.

“

...Actually, that was Rikki’s idea. When we came into rehearsals...to break the ice for the new record...before we started fightin’ and arguin’ about songs, we went through a list of covers and remakes. ...It was the song that stuck and I think it fits perfectly for our band. It has a great melody and a great vocal, but it's also kinda sparse and undefined...it was kinda like an open palette for us.

”

• Laura Branigan covered "Squeeze Box" on Branigan 2.
• McBride & the Ride covered the song on their 2002 album Amarillo Sky.
• The song was covered by Tenacious D during VH1 Rock Honors: The Who.
• Rock band Collective Soul covered the song during their 2005-2006 tour, a version of which can be heard on the band's Instant Live recordings from the period.
• Sheryl Crow has covered the song.
• Bon Jovi have occasionally covered the song during the acoustic segment of shows on The Circle Tour
• Sherie Rene Scott covered the song on her album Men I've Had.
• Ali Campbell covered the song on his 2010 album 'Great British Songs'.
• The Irish Rovers covered this song in 1989 on their album "Hardstuff".

Pop culture references

• The song is featured in the Freaks and Geeks episode "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers", where Mr. and Mrs. Weir preview a Who album to see if there are any objectionable lyrics.

• In The Simpsons episode "A Tale of Two Springfields", Homer reminds The Who of some of their songs, but mistakenly terms Squeeze Box as being an example of "the Angry Defiant Who".

• An episode of Two and a Half Men which featured a spoof version of CSI, "Stiffs", used "Squeeze Box" as the theme song, parodying the practice of the CSI franchise of using songs by The Who as theme songs.

• An episode of That '70s Show is named after the song.

• In a 2005 episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? during a game of Scenes from a Hat, Ryan Stiles mentions the song's bridge as a "bad song to sing while making love".

• In Austin Powers in Goldmember, the Mike Myers character "Goldmember" references "Squeezebox" in the scene where he says "farger" for the word "father."

See also

• 1975 in music
• The Who