The Stray Cats

The Stray Cats formed in 1979 in the Long Island hamlet of Massapequa, New York, when guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer joined forces with school friends, double bassist Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom, sharing a love of authentic rockabilly at a time when the genre had all but vanished from the American mainstream. Realizing the US wasn’t ready for a rockabilly revival, the trio sold their possessions to buy plane tickets to London in 1980, where they met guitarist and producer Dave Edmunds, who shared their passion for 1950s rock and roll and produced the band’s self-titled 1981 debut. That album yielded the UK hits Runaway Boys, Stray Cat Strut, and Rock This Town, and after extensive MTV airplay carried the band’s retro style to America, both songs became US Top Ten hits the following year, pushing their album Built for Speed to double platinum status. Rock This Town is listed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among the 500 most important songs in the history of rock and roll. Setzer went on to form the Grammy-winning swing revival act The Brian Setzer Orchestra, but the Stray Cats have reunited multiple times over the decades, continuing to bring their rockabilly revival back to stages worldwide.