Built for Speed by The Stray Cats

Built for Speed was the Stray Cats' introduction to America, released by EMI America in June 1982 and pieced together from the two albums they had already put out in Britain: six songs from Stray Cats, five from Gonna Ball, plus the brand-new title track. Dave Edmunds is the producer on the credits, and Brian Setzer on guitar and vocals, Lee Rocker on double bass and Slim Jim Phantom on drums, the trio that formed in Massapequa on Long Island in 1979, play as if the rock and roll clock never moved on.

It's rockabilly played with a young band's nerve: slapped bass, twanging hot-rod guitar and a swaggering strut in every beat. The title song rides a lean, revving groove, and the videos for "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" became MTV staples. It went platinum and became the band's most successful record.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.