Stray Cat Strut – Stray Cats | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#3); 1983

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

Long after the mid-1950’s Southern hybrid of early rock ‘n’ roll known as rockabilly had faded, three displaced Yanks in England breathed new life into it.

The Stray Cats – Brian Setzer, Leon “Lee Rocker” Drucher, and Jim “Jim Phantom” McDonell – originally performed under various names in order to get gigs at New York clubs reluctant to book the same act week after week.

So the Tom Cats one week, were the Bob Cats the next, always retaining “cat” in their name. After moving to England, the three were always homeless and hungry so Lee dubbed them the Stray Cats. There musician/producer Dave Edmunds, whose work included rockabilly-tinged recordings, signed on produce them.

The band scored hits in the U.K., including the Setzer-penned Stray Cat Strut in 1981, however, America had to wait until mid-1982 when Built For Speed, cobbled together from the two British albums, was released. Strut stumbled the first time around, then became the group’s biggest U.S. single when released again.

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