Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night - by Christopher McKittrick (Paperback)

About the Book

A comprehensive guide to the band with praise from Booklist saying "Stray Cats fans and music lovers in general will appreciate this exhaustively researched document of the group's influential and lengthy career."

Book Synopsis

A comprehensive guide to the band with praise from Booklist saying "Stray Cats fans and music lovers in general will appreciate this exhaustively researched document of the group's influential and lengthy career."
While New Wave pop music was dominating the charts in the early 1980s, one band made up of a trio of throwback-loving musicians from the suburbs of Massapequa, Long Island--guitarist/singer Brian Setzer, drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and bassist Lee Rocker--returned rockabilly to the international pop charts as the Stray Cats, releasing such infectious Top 10 singles "Rock This Town," "Stray Cat Strut," and "(She's) Sexy + 17." Over forty years and many classic studio and live albums later, the Stray Cats still epitomize the spirit of the founding fathers of rock and roll--a coolness that never goes out of style.
Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Story of the Stray Cats tells the full story of the band's history and catalog as musicians. It not only celebrates the Cats as one of the most successful rock revival groups, but follows their exploits as a throwback act in the years when MTV was still new, going on to enjoy long-lived popularity in rockabilly culture across the globe from Massapequa to Memphis and beyond.

Review Quotes

"The Stray Cats, a fiery rock trio from Long Island, transposed the raw 1950s rockabilly of Eddie Cochran into the glossy mediascape of 1980s pop culture. The band exploded in England two years before their debut American album catapulted to the top of the U.S. charts. By that time, the fickle UK press had turned on them, and it wouldn't take long for the U.S. to follow suit, leading to disappointing sales on their second record and the first of many break-ups. McKittrick tracks their meteoric success, dissolution, reunions, and outside projects (critics had a field day making puns about their 'nine lives'), including the remarkable comeback of lead singer and guitarist Brian Setzer with his Grammy-winning swing ensemble. McKittrick packs the book with facts, figures, and dates.... Stray Cats fans and music lovers in general will appreciate this exhaustively researched document of the group's influential and lengthy career." --Booklist

The Stray Cats, a fiery rock trio from Long Island, transposed the raw 1950s rockabilly of Eddie Cochran into the glossy mediascape of 1980s pop culture. The band exploded in England two years before their debut American album catapulted to the top of the U.S. charts. By that time, the fickle UK press had turned on them, and it wouldn't take long for the U.S. to follow suit, leading to disappointing sales on their second record and the first of many break-ups. McKittrick tracks their meteoric success, dissolution, reunions, and outside projects (critics had a field day making puns about their 'nine lives'), including the remarkable comeback of lead singer and guitarist Brian Setzer with his Grammy-winning swing ensemble. McKittrick packs the book with facts, figures, and dates.... Stray Cats fans and music lovers in general will appreciate this exhaustively researched document of the group's influential and lengthy career.

About the Author

A Long Island, NY native, Christopher McKittrick is the author of Gimme All Your Lovin' The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons and other books. McKittrick's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Observer, Rolling Stone, and numerous entertainment and news platforms. He has appeared on television on the Tom Petty episode of HLN's How It Really Happened and Al Araby TV's Hekayat Al Cinema, and on various radio shows and podcasts.