Facts and important people
The page where all kinds of facts that don't have a place in any of the other pages and a list of people who played an important role for the Stray Cats.
If you know of anymore, please don't hesitate to mail the_Anchorman and it will be added here.
If you don't agree with a certain fact, well then I guess it isn't a fact. Please inform me on that one as well.
| Important people |
| Important people |
| Important person | Important because of |
|---|---|
| Ray Gogarty | Brian Setzer's second guitar teacher. Ray Gogarty was a well know jazz guitar player. He played with many bands. He was most famous for being Benny Goodman's guitarist. |
| Elmer "Mousey" Alexander | Slim Jim's drum teacher. Slim Jim took basic lessons at the Massepequa music store, but Mousey Alexander was the teacher who taught him further. |
| Tony Bidgood | First manager of the Stray Cats. Brian met Tony in New York bar.
Tony Bidgood told Brian that rockabilly was still populair in England and advises them to go there. |
| Bruno Blum | Bruno gave the Stray Cats a place to stay when they arrived in England. He also drew up the first logo. Please see Stray Cats Logo for the full story on that. |
| Dave Edmunds | Producer of their very first album. And later of Rant 'n' Rave, Blast Off! and Choo Choo Hot Fish. They met Dave when he sat in their dressing room after a show at the Venue on 20 August 1980. He asked them if he could be their producer before someone else would ruin their sound. |
| Henri Padovani | Former member of The Police. Claims to have introduced the Stray Cats to Claudine Riley. However Bruno Blum makes the same claim. But in New Musical Express of August 30, 1980 the name Henri Padovani is mentioned. So for now I believe that Henri Padovani is the one who did the introduction. |
| Claudine Riley | Works for Keith Althman Publicity and is the press agent for the Who and the Rolling Stones. She likes their sound and offers them to stay at her office. She also helps to get them better gigs. |
| Keith Altman | Owner of Keith Althman Publicity He was also a writer for New Musical Express. That magazine is the first to publish an article about the Stray Cats |
| Nominations and awards |
| Grammy Nominations and awards (year relates to year of nomination) |
| Year | Artist | Nomination/Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Stray Cats |
25th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best New Artist The Stray Cats lost to Men At Work |
1998 |
Brian Setzer Orchestra | 41st Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for: Jump Jive An' Wail Brian wins the award. |
1998 |
Brian Setzer Orchestra | 41st Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for: Sleepwalk Brian wins the award. |
1998 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 41st Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Pop Album for: The Dirty Boogie Brian lost to: The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill |
2000 |
Brian Setzer Orchestra | 43rd Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Pop Instrumental Performance for: Caravan Brian wins the award. |
2003 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 46th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Pop Instrumental Performance for: The Nutcracker Suite Brian lost to Marwa Blues by George Harrison |
2004 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 47th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Pop Instrumental Performance for: Rat Pack Boogie Brian lost to 11th Commandment by Ben Harper |
2006 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 49th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Pop Instrumental Performance for: My Favorite Things Brian lost to Mornin' by George Benson (& Al Jarreau) |
2007 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 50th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Classical Crossover Album for: Wolfgang's Big Night Out Brian lost to A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane by Turtle Island Quartet |
2009 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 52nd Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Rock Instrumental Performance for: Mr. Surfer Goes Jazzin' Brian lost to A Day In The Life by Jeff Beck |
2010 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | 53rd Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for: Sleepwalk Brian lost to Nessun Dorma by Jeff Beck |
2011 | Brian Setzer | 54th Annual Grammy Awards: Grammy Nomination Category: Best Pop Instrumental Album for: Setzer Goes Instru-Mental! Brian lost to The Road From Memphis by Booker T. Jones |
| Other Nominations and awards |
| Date | Artist | Nomination/Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Stray Cats |
(She's) Sexy and 17 was nominated for MTV Video Music Awards in the category Best Cinematography The Stray Cats lost to Every Breath You Take by the Police. |
| 23 February 1999 | Brian Setzer |
Brian wins the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award Please see Eventology for more details. |
| 2004 | Stray Cats |
Rock This Town is listed as one of the 500 songs (later extended to 660) That Shaped Rock and Roll by the
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Additional info: James Henke, chief curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the help of music writers and critics, selected 500 songs (not only rock songs) that they believe have been most influential in shaping rock and roll. The list is alphabetical by artist. The original list from 2004 was expanded at some point to 660 songs. The total list can be found here. |
| 15 October 2006 | Stray Cats |
Stray Cats are inducted in the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame Please see Eventology for more details. |
| 1 April 2011 | Lee Rocker |
Lee Rocker is honored with a Visionary Arts award from the Laguna Beach Arts Council |
| 2013 | Lee Rocker |
Lee Rocker is awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bassplayer magazine |
| 13 June 2015 | Brian Setzer |
Brian Setzer is awarded AMS Revival Award Please see Eventology for more details. |
| 2021 | Lee Rocker |
On December 2, 2021 it was announced that Lee Rocker was voted #10 in Music Radar's: The 10 best bassists in the world right now, as decided by you. |
| Miscellaneous |
| Brian Setzer and the Tom Cats |
|
Brian Setzer had a rockabilly band with his younger brother Gary Setzer on drums and Bob Beecher on bass. This band was called Brian and the Tomcats.
All three of them together with Ken Kinnally also formed the band Bloodless Pharaohs. At first George Ellert was on bass, but he left and Bob Beecher replaced him.
The music was more new-wave oriented or, as Ken Kinnally called it, "art rock". After Brian got in a fight at a Brian Setzer and the Tom Cats gig with his brother Gary because Gary forgot to bring his drumsticks and was playing with branches of a tree, Brian decided to move ahead with rockabilly, because that music was more a crowd pleaser. Brian Setzer teamed up with Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom, who were already rehearsing bass and drums and writing songs together. They were all at the same high school although Brian was one year up. So the Tomcats as in Brian Setzer and the Tomcats were at first Gary Setzer and Bob Beecher, but after the incident were Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker. |
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| Stray Cats name |
|
In the USA Brian, Lee and Slim Jim played as Brian and the Tom Cats. But they also used other names
like just The Tomcats, The Bob Cats, and The Wildcats. They used different names to make sure they
got more gigs. Club owners didn't want the same band too much. So they used different names to mislead
club owners in believing they booked a different band. They mainly used names that ended with Cats so their following knew it was them.
According to the book My Life As A Rockabilly Rebel by Slim Jim, they were asked
in England by Claudine Riley what the name of the band was and decided they needed a different name. Apparently Lee came up with the name Stray Cats. Quote from the aforementioned book: We were cats like Elvis, we had nowhere to live - the logic was undeniable. |
 |
| Stray Cats Logo |
| The first logo The first logo was designed by Bruno Blum. Brian, Lee and Slim Jim stayed with him on their first trip to the UK in a squatted house. After they took on the name Stray Cats (see above) they needed a logo for a photo session on the bass drum. Bruno Blum, being a designer and maker of cartoons, designed it for them and painted it on the drums. Bruno Blum said this on Facebook about the logo: My original Stray Cats logo was drawn in June, 1980 in the Electric Chairs squat at 8, Queensgate Place, London, where the Cats had slept on their very first night in London after an evening in my room chatting and listening to my rock and roll records collection. I had a quiff then and a double bass. They asked me to draw the logo for their drum set a couple of weeks later. Jim also asked me to design the drum set art he used for his left arm tattoo. I still have the original drawing. My logo was put up on the drum set, which was used on all of their early English shows including the Dingwall's one, where I was present and where some early live photographs were taken. One of these photographs was used on the cover of their first Arista single 'Runaway Boys,' where the drum set logo can be seen. Many of their early press pictures feature the drum set with my logo. Arista Records made me an offer for the use of the logo but my lawyer told me to demand points, which Arista Records refused to give me and choosed one of Brian's tattoos as a logo instead. Although many feel the original logo better captured the Cats' spirit and prefer it to the more famous one, it was only used on the drum set from July until late 1980, for about six months. I later found out that my lawyer was also the Stray Cats manager's, and that he had not given me good advice. As it turned out, I recently realized my girlfriend at the time moved in with that same lawyer shortly after this! Click the pic to make it big. |
|
| The current logo In 2007 this story about the logo was posted on the official Stray Cats website:"Slim Jim Phantom's first tattoo in 1980 was the Teddy Boy Stray Cat which he has on his left forearm. Slim Jim and Brian Setzer went the same day to tattoo artist Bob Roberts, and between them they drew up the cat's head design. Brian had just the head tattooed on his upperarm but Jim wanted a whole body. The cat's head design became the official logo of the Stray Cats." So the tattoos were already there before they went to the UK. At the backside of their first single "Runaway Boys" you can see Slim Jims' forearm with the tattoo on it. So actually this logo was already there when they came to the UK. It was later decided to continue with this logo instead of the Bruno Blum logo. The reason for that is as told by Brian Blum stated above. |
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| The arms on the Runaway Boys single |
|
On the backside of the first single we can see three arms. The arm on the left is easily recognized by the full cat head body; it belongs to Slim Jim Phantom. The arm is the middle is also easily recognized and belongs to Brian Setzer. Lee Rocker doesn't have any tattoos so the third arm can't be his. The third arm belongs to Tony Bidgood the first manager of the Stray Cats. |
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| The origin of the Stray Cats pin-up girl |
|
On 2 June 2004 the origin of the famous Stray Cats pin-up girl was explained in detail by the
official briansetzer.com website, at that time run by Tommy Maguire. Apparently the pin-up girl was drawn up in 1955 and was used by Arista. The artist's name was Robert Patterson. Please see the original webpage which was saved as pdf by clicking here for the full story. |
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| The "Gonna Ball" diner photo-session |
|
On 24 May 2004 the official briansetzer.com website, at that time run by Tommy Maguire did a page
about the where-abouts of the diner that was used on the cover of the "Gonna Ball" album. The info given on the album is not correct as is explained in this article. Please see the original webpage which was saved as pdf by clicking here for the full story. |
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| The tour that never was |
|
The tour poster pictured here is from the More tour from the Specials, which ran from
11 September 1980 until 16 October 1980. The Stray Cats are on this poster as one of the two support acts. However they pulled back from this tour before it started. All posters and T-shirts were printed already and are sometimes for sale on marketplaces like Ebay, etc. Nice if you are a Specials fan, but the Stray Cats never appeared on any of these shows. This info is from Pete Shells who was in charge of merchandising for this tour. |
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| Lee Rocker's old method of protecting fingers |
|
In magazine Blue Suede News issue 75 there is an interview with Lee Rocker. He states that he sometimes used Krazy Glue to protect his fingers. "You just put Krazy Glue across the tips of your fingers and it keeps the skin from cracking if it's dry or if you're afraid your blisters are going to come off or something." It was a trick he learned from guitar players he worked with. Please see Magazines for that particular issue. |
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| Endorsements and advertisements |
| Stray Cats and Toyota | 1981 |
|---|---|
|
In 1981 the song Down Town (What's Going Down) aka Cross That Bridge was used in Japan for a television commercial
for the Toyota Celica. The song became very popular in Japan because of this and was released as
a single in Japan. People who went for a test drive in a Toyota Celica at a dealer in Japan received a special version of this single. The single itself was the same as the store-bought release, but the insert was custom made for Toyota. Click a pic to make it big. |
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| Slim Jim's deal with Gretsch drums | 1984 |
|---|---|
|
In 1984 Slim Jim signed a deal with Gretsch drums to promote Gretsch drums. He appeared in print ads. This advertisement is from the January 1984 issue of Modern Drummer. In that issue there is also a big interview with him where he also talks about the deal with Gretsch. Please see Magazines for that. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Phantom, Rocker & Slick and Bridgestone tires | 1985 |
|---|---|
|
In 1985 the song My Mistake was used in Japan to promote Bridgestone tires. The release of that single in Japan was sponsored by Bridgestone which can clearly be seen in the right corner of the insert. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Brian's deal with Budweiser | 1991 |
|---|---|
|
In 1991 Brian Setzer promoted Budweiser beer. He appeared in a television commercial with
legendary Cordell Jackson. You can watch the commercial on youtube: Budweiser Commercial - 90's - Brian Setzer with Rock-A-Billy Icon Click the pic to see thumbnails of that commercial. |
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| Brian's deal with Edwin jeans | 1993 |
|---|---|
|
In 1993 Brian promoted Edwin jeans. Edwin jeans is a Japanese jeans brand. Brian appeared in print ads. The ad here is from Japanese magazine Hot Dog Press from 25 august 1993. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Brian's deal with Gretsch | 1994 |
|---|---|
|
In 1994 (or before that?) Brian signed a deal with Gretsch guitars. He appeared in several print ads and in Gretsch catalogues. A Brian Setzer signature 6120 Gretsch guitar model was introduced. These ads are from three unknown magazines, from 1994, 1997 and 2008. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Brian's deal with Chivas Regal | 1998 |
|---|---|
|
In 1998 Brian Setzer promoted Chivas Regal. Chivas Regal even created a new cocktail called The Dirty Boogie:
The ad as shown here is from a 1999 magazine. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Slim Jim's deal with Peace drums | 2001 |
|---|---|
|
In 2001 Slim Jim signed a deal with Peace drums to promote Peace drums. He appeared in several print ads. These ads are from three magazines, two are from 2001, the third is from 2004. Click the pic to make it big. |
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| Brian Setzer's deal with Ritz crackers | 2007 |
|---|---|
|
In 2007 Brian Setzer signed a deal with Ritz crackers. There was a television commercial with a special "Ritzed up" version of Let's Live It Up from the Dirty Boogie album. You can watch the commercial on youtube: Ritz Crackers Commercial |
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| Slim Jim Phantom's Other Bands Slim Jim Phantom has been in many other bands. Here is a list of all the bands of which he was a member. |
| Bandname | Other members | Years active | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phantom, Rocker and Slick |
|
1985- 1986 and regrouped shortly in 2012 | The band that Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker formed with Earl Slick after the break up of the Stray Cats. They made two records and toured extensively in the USA. |
| the Rufnex |
|
1988 | Short lived band. No albums, only one tour of live-shows in 1988. |
| the Cheap Dates |
|
1993 | A short lived band around actor/singer Harry Dean Stanton. They had one album out which was recorded in 1993 but wasn't released until 2021 |
| 13 Cats |
|
Started in 1997. | Their theme song 13 Cats was featured in the movie The Rage - Carrie 2. |
| Swing Cats |
|
Started in 1999. | Started when the swing revival was taking off. Lee Rocker plays bass on several Swing Cats recordings, but was never really a part of the band. |
| Head Cat |
|
Started in 1999. | First album released as Lemmy, Slim Jim and Danny B. Later they changed their name to HeadCat. The actual name should perhaps be spelled as Head Cat; Lemmy designed the logo and he used Head Cat in it. Please see this post on the official Head Cat Facebook page. |
| Col. Parker |
|
1999 - | The band's origins lay in the Phantom-owned Cat Club in Hollywood,
where each Thursday night, Phantom would invite friends to come up and jam,
as they started off by playing strictly covers of such classic rockers as the Faces,
Rolling Stones, T. Rex, Chuck Berry, and Mott the Hoople, among others. They were offered a
recording contract from the V2 label.
They released one album called Rock n Roll Music |
| Starfuckers |
|
2001 - 2006 | Sometimes billed as the Starbangers by promotors and venue owners. |
| Dead Men Walking |
|
Slim Jim joined in 2003. | The band was started in 2001. Slim Jim joined in 2003. Kirk Brandon had a fallin' out with other band members. He kept the name Dead Men Walking. Slim Jim, Mike Peters and Captian Sensible added Chris Cheney (from The Living End) and formed the Jack Tars, see below. |
Guana Cats |
|
2001 | short lived band |
| Jack Tars |
|
2015 | See This announcement on the official Jack Tars Instagram account about the new name. | The Kat Men |
|
2008-2009, 2011-2013 | Darrel and Slim Jim met at the Oneida Casino in Wisconsin and had a jam session. They then toured Australia and Europe as
the Slim Jim Phantom Trio. After the first CD in 2007 which was called Kat Men they started performing as The Kat Men. Al Gare joined in 2011. |
| The Whammy |
|
2013 | Short lived project. No albums, only live shows in 2013 |
| Slim Jim Phantom Trio |
|
Slim Jim Phantom appears with many different bass players and guitarist as the Slim Jim Phantom Trio. |