Brian Setzer Orchestra Biography

With his guitar chops and retro-chic frontman persona Brian Setzer helped launch two unlikely revivals during his career: rockabilly and swing. Born in Massapequa New York he spent most of his youth in nearby Long Island where he received his first instrument -- the euphonium -- at age 8. He began devoting time to both genres; his early attempts at songwriting would take their cues from blues-rock bands like Led Zeppelin but he'd also spend his evenings in New York jazz clubs. After seeing the Mel Lewis Orchestra he formed the idea of leading his own big band-- but doing so as a guitarist.
In the early '80s Setzer formed the Stray Cats a rockabilly band that took England by storm. The Stray Cats' breakthrough album in America Built for Speed spurred three separate top ten hits including Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town. While touring the country with the Stray Cats Setzer practiced jazz chords and listened to the recordings of Gene Krupa Benny Goodman and other big-band leaders. After the group's demise Setzer turned to jazz music by forming a 17-piece big band for a series of L.A. club dates.
After cutting an album of cover songs for a smaller label Setzer took his big band to Interscope Records which issued Guitar Slinger in 1996. The album blended jump blues swing and Texas blues; moreover it established the Brian Setzer Orchestra as part of the swing revival a genre that had begun gaining popularity in America. The band's cover of Louis Prima's Jump Jive an' Wail became a huge hit resulting in two Grammy Awards and a healthy amount of radio airplay. In 2002 Setzer added a Christmas album (Boogie Woogie Christmas) to his résumé followed by the greatest-hits anthology Jump Jive an' Wail: The Best of the Brian Setzer Orchestra 1994-2000.

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