![]() As a result, Built for Speed was a smash, and the Stray Cats were seen as avatars of retro style. Helped by extensive airplay on MTV at the height of the anything-goes new wave era, "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" both hit the American Top Ten, over a year after their British chart peaks. debut, Built for Speed, which compiled the highlights from their two British LPs. They were popular right out of the box with the release of their self-titled album in 1981 that scored three straight hits with "Runaway Boys," "Rock This Town," and "Stray Cat Strut." Deciding to test their luck in America, they signed with EMI America and in 1982 released their U.S. ![]() Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for Rockabilly music and after banging around New York and Philadelphia for a few months, in the summer of 1980, they were persuaded by a mutual friend to hop a plane to London where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge. ![]() Their music and style were like nothing happening in pop culture at that time. It was elegant yet hard, jazzy yet completely rocking. The music had a rhythm that was rock solid yet loose, the singer could croon or shout and the guitar playing demanded respect. Stray Cats, the band that put Rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early-'80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950’s style brought “up to date” with exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos, as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly's original heyday.
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