Combining a '50s retro big band style with an overall ‘80s rockabilly revival sound, the Stray Cats were anything but strays in the 1980s music scene. Getting their start on Long Island, Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom took their music from New York to London and ultimately back to America, sweeping the nation coast to coast with classic hits like "Rock This Town" that will never be lost among generations.The Stray Cats formed their pack in 1979, moving to London to jump-start the rockabilly revival movement in England after receiving a less-than-average response from New Yorkers. The band's strategy worked, as producer Dave Edmunds led them to a record deal with Arista and their eponymous debut album release in 1981. "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town" were immediate hits, and the Stray Cats returned to their American homeland with a record deal from EMI, releasing their first American album Built for Speed in 1982. By this time the band's third album Rant n' Rave With the Stray Cats was released, the cats had garnered three Top Ten hits and a huge following with the new wave MTV crowd.Just as the Stray Cats had conquered the American music scene, however, internal conflicts led them to temporarily split up to pursue separate interests in 1984. A two-year hiatus followed, but in 1986 the pack reconvened for a short-lived stint on the west coast. 1989 found the band back on the chopping block again, reuniting for the album Blast Off and a tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Three albums and three years later, the Stray Cats had once again strayed from each other, this time permanently. Setzer, however, went on to create the Brian Setzer Orchestra, picking up the big band style he flirted with in the Stray Cats and turning it into a genre of his own.