Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats (1983) 12/15/23

In the the early 1980s, 1950s' style Rockabilly music once again became popular on the charts, thanks in a majorbway to Brian Setzer and his group, The Stray Cats.

Today, we're highlighting one of their biggest hits, and a Great Song of 1981 AND 1983: the aptly titled "Stray Cat Strut."

The reason for my double-year designation is the fact that when it was originally released in 1981, it reached #11 in the UK, but a woeful #78 in the US on Billboard's Disco Chart--and that's it.

However, after the success of another Stray Cats song, "Rock This Town," which we will highlight in the future, It was decided to re-release "Stray Cat Strut in the US...and this time, it climbed to #3 on the Hot 100 in March of 1983.

Like many songs of the era, it was helped into the mainstream by extensive airplay on MTV. It was clever, fun, and not only did it play into the idea of "stray cats" with live action by the band," it featured animation excerpts from the 1949 MGM cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie."

"Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats. When you think about it, if cats have 9 lives, the band used two of them to make this a Great Song of 1981 and 1983!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEtbfzMLVWU

Tomorrow: An Odd couple scores with a Great Duet!