Stray Cats Mark Their 40th Anniversary With New Album and Tour in 2019
By: Tori Hartshorn Oct. 16, 2018
STRAY CATS will mark their 40th anniversary in 2019 with a new album and tour. Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom--original founding members of the acclaimed American rock and roll trio--are heading into a studio in Nashville to record their first new album in 25 years.
Set to be released on Surfdog Records, the album will be produced by Peter Collins (Rush, Bon Jovi, The Brian Setzer Orchestra) and engineered by Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Arctic Monkeys). Stay tuned for more details and an official release date.
The iconic group, known for their high-energy performances with hits such as"Stray Cat Strut," "(She's) Sexy + 17," and "Rock This Town," are also mapping out plans for a tour, with dates TBA. STRAY CATS in 2018 marked their first North American shows in 10 years, with four concerts including sold-out headlining shows at Viva Las Vegas and the Pacific Amphitheatre inCosta Mesa, CA (August 16 and 17) before wildly enthusiastic audiences.
STRAY CATS, the band that put Rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early '80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950's style brought "up to date" with exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos and as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly's original heyday. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for Rockabilly music and after banging around New York and Philadelphia for a few months, in the summer of 1980, they were persuaded by a mutual friend to hop a plane to London where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge. Their massive hits and videos include "Runaway Boys," "Rock This Town," "Stray Cat Strut" "(She's) Sexy + 17," and "I Won't Stand in Your Way."
Photo Above: Stray Cats; credit: Suzie Kaplan
L to R: Slim Jim Phantom, Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker
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