Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 1559 Date: 08/06/1983
Debut: 51
Peak: 5
Weeks: 15
Genre: Rockabilly
Pop Bits: These rockabilly revivalists hit it big when their US debut album, Built for Speed, spawned the hits "Rock This Town" (#9) and "Stray Cat Strut" (#3). Capitalizing on that momentum, the Cats once again hit the studio with producer Dave Edmunds and came out with Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats. This first single followed the others right into the Top 10 to become their third in a row. In the UK where they first broke, their retro sound seemed to be quickly going out of fashion as this single could only manage a #29 showing. The US would soon follow suit making this their final US Top 10.
ReduxReview: I wasn't into the Stray Cats' retro-billy sound to begin with, so when this came out I was particularly hateful towards it. If it came on the radio, I couldn't turn the dial fast enough. When the video played on MTV, I switched the channel. I just was not buying into their greasy, bad boy, poser personas and refurbished 50s music. Although my attitude towards them has changed over the years, I'm still not a fan of this song. I think it just tries way too hard to capture the era of the music and it comes off more like imitation rather than something new via something old. It's just okay. They were capable of better.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Stray Cat member Lee Rocker was born Leon Drucker. His father, Stanley Drucker, was a clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic. Drucker joined the clarinet section in 1948 and by 1960 he was the Philharmonic's principle clarinetist. He remained in that position until a final performance in 2009. His six-decade career earned Drucker a Guinness world record for the longest career as a clarinetist. He received the award following his last performance with the Philharmonic.
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