🐈 About the Song
Released in 1981, Stray Cat Strut is the anthem of every cool outsider with too much style and not enough cash. Written by frontman Brian Setzer, it purrs with rockabilly swing and a jazz cat’s confidence — the musical equivalent of a slow walk past a diner window just to check your reflection.
The Stray Cats were basically time travellers: three kids from Long Island who resurrected 1950s rockabilly in the 80s punk scene — and somehow made it sexy again. The upright bass, twangy Gretsch guitar, and swaggering vocals gave this track instant cult status.
It’s part blues, part swing, part tongue-in-cheek attitude — a love letter to the days when “cool” came with a comb and a cigarette.
🎸 Ukulele Playing Tips
- Chords:Em – A7 – D – G – C – B7.
- Verses: Em – A7 – D – G,
- Chorus: C – B7 – Em.
- Strumming pattern: Swing rhythm — Down (rest) Down-Up (rest) Up-Down-Up at around 110 bpm.
It’s all about the bounce. Think jazz-cat cool, not punk thrash. - Tone: Play closer to the bridge for that crisp “slap” sound.
- Feel: Each strum should almost “purr.” Keep it tight, not floppy.
- Optional flourish: Add palm mutes on downstrokes for that rockabilly “click.”
- Advanced move: Try a walking bass riff between chords:
A|------0-2-3-|
E|--0-2-------|
C|------------|
G|------------|
- Performance tip: Throw in a smirk before every chorus. It’s required by law.
🧠 Trivia You Can Drop Casually
- The Stray Cats were American but first broke big in the UK, where rockabilly was having a revival thanks to the punk scene.
- The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983, two years after its first UK release.
- Brian Setzer later led the Brian Setzer Orchestra, blending rockabilly and big-band swing — proof you can age gracefully while still wearing leopard print.
- The “I’m a feline Casanova…” line? Totally improvised in the studio.
🌈 Final Word
Play Stray Cat Strut like you just sauntered out of a film noir and everyone’s watching you walk away.
Keep the rhythm tight, your tone crisp, and your grin cocky.
This isn’t a song you play — it’s one you strut through.
