Thursday, June 18, 2015

"Stray Cat Strut" by Stray Cats

Top 10 Alert!
Song#:  1296
Date:  12/25/1982
Debut:  43
Peak:  3
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Rockabilly



Pop Bits:  The trio's US debut album, "Built for Speed," was a best-seller thanks in part to the LP's lead single "Rock This Town" (#9). This second single would give the album an additional boost and help it get to #2. It would end up being a platinum success. Both this single and the album would prove to be the peaks of their chart career. This song appeared on the band's self-titled debut album that was released in the UK. It served as the LP's third single and reached #11 on the chart.

ReduxReview:  I didn't get into their retro rockabilly at the time and this second single just made it worse for me. I thought it was supremely silly and totally hated it. These days I have a better understanding of what they were doing and can appreciate them bringing rockabilly back to the masses. As for this song, it is still not one of my favorites, but it is more than tolerable and I don't mind if it comes up in a playlist mix.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The video for this song was an MTV favorite at the time. Included in the video are snippets from the 1949 MGM animated short "Bad Luck Blackie." Considered one of the best cartoons ever made, the Tex Avery film centered on a white cat who is being tormented by a bulldog. A black cat offers to help keep the white one safe by bringing bad luck in various forms to the bulldog. It's long been played on TV, but like a few other earlier cartoons, it contains a scene that could be consider offensive or racist. In a scene, the bulldog is shoved in a stove and when his head pops out the chimney, he appears Chinese. These days when the cartoon is shown, that little portion is edited out.

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