Built for Speed
Encyclopedia
Built for Speed is the first American album from the rockabilly
band Stray Cats
. It was the most successful record for the band, with the videos for songs such as "Rock This Town
" and "Stray Cat Strut
" reaching MTV
regular rotation status. This album is a compilation of 12 songs taken from the band's first two albums which were released in the UK. Six songs from Stray Cats
and five songs from Gonna Ball
plus the title track, which had not previously been released in the UK. The title track can also be heard in the 1984 film Surf II
.
Note: "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" is often miscredited as having been written by Mike Chapman, who recorded a song of the same name with his band Tangerine Peel. However, Chapman's "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" is a completely different song than the one the Stray Cats recorded; they just happen to share the same title. The Stray Cats' "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" was originally done by Eddie Cochran
, and was written by George Motola and Ricky Page (regardless of what the original Built For Speed album or other various Stray Cats collections may claim).
Single
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
band Stray Cats
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American Rockabilly band formed in 1980 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer , upright bassist Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia and the U.S...
. It was the most successful record for the band, with the videos for songs such as "Rock This Town
Rock This Town
"Rock This Town" is a song by the Stray Cats from their UK debut album Stray Cats. Its first U.S. release was on the 1982 album Built for Speed. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, becoming the first of the band's three top ten hits in the U.S...
" and "Stray Cat Strut
Stray Cat Strut
"Stray Cat Strut" is the eighth track on the Stray Cats' debut album, Stray Cats, released in 1981 in the UK. In the US, the song was first released in 1982 on Built for Speed. The song became a hit in the US, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, over a year after it had reached its...
" reaching MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
regular rotation status. This album is a compilation of 12 songs taken from the band's first two albums which were released in the UK. Six songs from Stray Cats
Stray Cats (album)
Stray Cats is the first album from the rockabilly band Stray Cats. It was released in the UK and was very successful, with hits such as "Runaway Boys," "Stray Cat Strut," and "Rock This Town."...
and five songs from Gonna Ball
Gonna Ball
Gonna Ball is the second album from the rockabilly band Stray Cats. It was released only in England in 1981 and was not as successful as Stray Cats. Five of the songs from it, including "Baby Blue Eyes" and "Little Miss Prissy," were issued on the band's first American album Built for Speed.-Track...
plus the title track, which had not previously been released in the UK. The title track can also be heard in the 1984 film Surf II
Surf II
Surf II is a 1984 American independent comedy film written and directed by Randall M. Badat and starring Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Eric Stoltz, Jeffrey Rogers and Peter Isacksen...
.
Side one
- "Rock This TownRock This Town"Rock This Town" is a song by the Stray Cats from their UK debut album Stray Cats. Its first U.S. release was on the 1982 album Built for Speed. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, becoming the first of the band's three top ten hits in the U.S...
" – 3:24 - "Built for Speed" – 2:53
- "Rev It Up & Go" – 2:27
- "Stray Cat StrutStray Cat Strut"Stray Cat Strut" is the eighth track on the Stray Cats' debut album, Stray Cats, released in 1981 in the UK. In the US, the song was first released in 1982 on Built for Speed. The song became a hit in the US, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, over a year after it had reached its...
" – 3:15 - "Little Miss Prissy" – 2:59
- "Rumble in Brighton" (Setzer, Slim Jim PhantomSlim Jim PhantomSlim Jim Phantom is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside band mates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s.-Biography:...
) – 3:11
Side two
- "Runaway Boys" (Setzer, Phantom)– 2:58
- "Lonely Summer Nights" – 3:16
- "Double Talkin' Baby" (Danny Wolfe) – 3:02
- "You Don't Believe Me" (Setzer, Phantom, Lee RockerLee RockerLee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...
) – 2:54 - "Jeanie, Jeanie, JeanieJeannie Jeannie JeannieThe Stray Cats recorded a version of "Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie" which was released on their first UK album Stray Cats in 1981. The song was also released on their debut US album Built for Speed...
" (George MotolaGeorge MotolaGeorge Motola was a record producer, songwriter, and sound engineer during the 1950s till his death.-Early life and career:...
, Ricky Page) – 2:18 - "Baby Blue Eyes" (Paul BurlisonPaul BurlisonPaul Burlison was an American pioneer rockabilly guitarist and a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. Burlison was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, where he was exposed to music at an early age. After a stint in the United States Military, Burlison teamed up with Johnny and Dorsey Burnette...
, Johnny BurnetteJohnny BurnetteJohn Joseph "Johnny" Burnette was an American rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette, and also a friend named Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.-Early life:Johnny Burnette...
)– 2:47
Note: "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" is often miscredited as having been written by Mike Chapman, who recorded a song of the same name with his band Tangerine Peel. However, Chapman's "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" is a completely different song than the one the Stray Cats recorded; they just happen to share the same title. The Stray Cats' "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" was originally done by Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
, and was written by George Motola and Ricky Page (regardless of what the original Built For Speed album or other various Stray Cats collections may claim).
Personnel
- Brian SetzerBrian SetzerBrian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Slim Jim PhantomSlim Jim PhantomSlim Jim Phantom is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside band mates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s.-Biography:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals - Lee RockerLee RockerLee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...
– bassAcoustic bass guitarThe acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar...
, electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
2 |
| 1983 | The Billboard 200 | 156 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Rock This Town"/"Runaway Boys" | Billboard Club Play Singles | 35 |
| 1981 | "Stray Cat Strut" | Billboard Club Play Singles | 78 |
| 1982 | "Rock This Town" | Billboard Pop Singles | 9 |
| 1982 | "Stray Cat Strut" | Billboard Mainstream | 4 |
| 1983 | "Stray Cat Strut" | Billboard Pop Singles | 3 |