(She’s) Sexy + 17 – Stray Cats | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5); 1983
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Brian Setzer and his fellow Stray Cats stood out alongside the 80’s mods of the early MTV era with their revival of a mid-1950’s Southern hybrid of early rock ‘n’ roll known as rockabilly.
Sporting swept-back hair and rebellious sneers, the Stray Cats – Brian Setzer, Leon “Lee Rocker” Drucher, and Jim “Jim Phantom” McDonell – originally performed around New York under various “cat” names.
After moving to England, the three were always homeless and hungry so Lee crowned them the Stray Cats. With Dave Edmunds, whose own work included rockabilly-tinged recordings, wearing the producer’s hat, the three-Yanks-in-England first hit overseas in 1981 with Runaway Boys.
Americans, however, had to wait until mid-1982 when Built For Speed was released. Within 10 months they racked up three hit singles, (She’s) Sexy + 17 being the third, then quickly disappeared. A decade later found Brian in the vanguard of the neo-Swing phenomena fronting his own 16 piece orchestra.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Dave Edmunds
Lyrics Written by:
- Brian Setzer
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).