RockLists.com
Cover of Stray Cats by The Stray Cats
Cover: Stray Cats

Song · The Stray Cats

“Stray Cat Strut” by The Stray Cats

From the album Stray Cats (1981)

“Stray Cat Strut” by The Stray Cats appears on 31 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 1982 and 2023. It was first released in 1981 on the album Stray Cats. Its best result is #53 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #78 alternative song of 1982 and #767 alternative song of all time.

31countdowns
13stations
#53best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1982–2023years charted

Watch

Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (StrayCatsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Stray Cat Strut" slinks out of the Stray Cats' 1981 debut album, Stray Cats, a Brian Setzer original produced by Dave Edmunds, and it's rockabilly with the lights turned down: a finger-snapping, alley-cat prowl where the rest of the record tears out of the garage. Arista put it out in Britain in April 1981, and it climbed to No. 11 there.

America took longer. The first US release stalled just under the Hot 100 in 1982, but once "Rock This Town" cracked the top 10, the label sent it out again, and this time it went all the way to number 3 in March 1983. MTV gave heavy play to its video, the band playing in an alley while an irate neighbor hurls things at them, spliced with bits of the 1949 MGM cartoon Bad Luck Blackie. Guitar World later ranked Setzer's solo No. 92 among the greatest ever.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 53 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982 107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 287 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 229 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 431 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1997 885 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 256 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 74 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 238 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 451 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 134 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 464 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 403 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 403 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 404 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 404 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 657 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 404 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 517 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 404 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 405 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1656 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1622 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1641 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1680 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1748 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1808 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1875 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 896 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2021 316 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 328 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2023 280 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →
  1. 1Town Called MaliceThe Jam
  2. 2Rock the CasbahThe Clash
  3. 3Should I Stay or Should I Go?The Clash
  4. 4Promised You a MiracleSimple Minds
  5. 5TemptationNew Order
  6. 6I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.