Stray Cat Strut

Not to be confused with Stray Cat Blues.
"Stray Cat Strut"
Single by Stray Cats
from the album Stray Cats/Built for Speed
B-side
  • "Drink That Bottle Down" (UK)
  • "You Don't Believe Me" (US)
  • "What's Goin' Down (Cross That Bridge)" (Japan)
ReleasedApril 17, 1981 (UK)
December 1982 (US)
GenreRockabilly
Length3:15
LabelArista (UK)
EMI America (US)
Songwriter(s)Brian Setzer
Producer(s)Dave Edmunds
Stray Cats singles chronology
"Rock This Town"
(1981) 		"Stray Cat Strut"
(1981) 		"You Don't Believe Me"
(1981)
Alternative cover
US 7" single cover

"Stray Cat Strut" is the third single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released April 17, 1981 by Arista Records in the UK, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Singles Chart.[1] It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, Stray Cats. That same year, as an import, it peaked at No. 78 on the US Disco Top 80 chart.[2]

In the US, the song was released as a single by EMI America on late 1982, and included on the Built for Speed album released that same month. During its initial release, "Stray Cat Strut" failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 109 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in August 1982.[3] When the band's next single, "Rock This Town", made the top 10, the record company decided to re-release "Stray Cat Strut", this time with much more success. Debuting at number 43, it was the highest new entry on the Hot 100 chart dated December 25, 1982, eventually peaking at number 3 in March 1983.[4] The music video for the song received extensive airplay on MTV during the channel's early days.[5] The video consisted of band members (and extras) performing in an alley while an irate resident throws things at them. It also featured scenes from the 1949 MGM cartoon Bad Luck Blackie.

In the October 1998 issue of Guitar World magazine, Brian Setzer's solo from "Stray Cat Strut" ranked No. 92 on the "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All Time" list.[6]

  1. ^ "STRAY CATS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 247.
  3. ^ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100." Billboard. Vol. 94, No. 32. 14 August 1982. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 609.
  5. ^ "Stray Cats Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  6. ^ Guitar Lists