The iconic rockabilly revival band, the Stray Cats, made waves with their groundbreaking 1982 album Built for Speed, which showcased two chart-topping hits: “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town.” Following this success, they released Rant n’ Rave with the Stray Cats a little over a year later. While this album produced two Top 40 singles, “(She’s) Sexy + 17” and “I Won’t Stand in Your Way,” it also featured tracks that showcased the band’s versatility beyond traditional rockabilly. Despite their talent, the Stray Cats faced the typical hurdles that many young rock musicians encounter while striving to uphold their initial triumphs in the competitive music industry.

In Christopher McKittrick’s insightful book Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Tale of the Stray Cats, the author delves into the journey of three passionate musicians from Massapequa, Long Island—guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and bassist Lee Rocker—who successfully brought rockabilly back to the forefront of the global pop charts as the Stray Cats. More than four decades later, with a rich discography of classic studio and live albums, the Stray Cats continue to embody the essence of rock and roll pioneers, maintaining a timeless coolness that resonates across generations.

Now available through Backbeat Books, Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night includes an exclusive excerpt where McKittrick reveals an intriguing detail about the last days of the band’s original lineup. This includes the addition of Tommy Byrnes, who is widely recognized for his extensive tenure as a guitarist in Billy Joel’s band. Byrnes holds the unique distinction of being the only “fourth Stray Cat” to join the iconic trio of Setzer, Phantom, and Rocker, a lineup that has remained largely consistent through various reunions and tours since their initial breakup in 1984. Byrnes’ short time with the band paved the way for collaborative projects with Setzer, including his debut solo albums and ongoing contributions to Billy Joel’s illustrious career.

Chapter 8: The Cats Go Astray – A New Era for the Stray Cats

The notably diminished sales of Rant n’ Rave with the Stray Cats compared to their earlier success with Built for Speed seemed to undermine Setzer’s confidence regarding the band’s future trajectory. Influenced by the musical support he received during their previous tour from renowned artists Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Mel Collins, the Stray Cats returned to the stage for a Fourth of July warm-up concert at the Rio Theatre in Valley Stream, Long Island. This venue, an 1,800-seat movie theater located a mere fifteen miles from Massapequa, frequently hosted concerts. As they prepared for what would become the final twenty shows of their original era, it was clear that the band members were contemplating a potentially transformative future. A significant change in their lineup was evident, as Tommy Byrnes joined the Stray Cats on stage, contributing as an additional guitarist and backing vocalist.

Tommy Byrnes, a talented guitarist best known today for his longstanding role in Billy Joel’s band since 1989, hails from Lynbrook and Oceanside, New York—two towns on Long Island’s South Shore located just a short distance from Massapequa. Byrnes began his musical journey in the same vibrant Long Island club scene as Phantom, Rocker, and Setzer. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the BMT’s, a popular local band that occasionally featured Freddy “Frogs” Toscano, a beloved figure in the Long Island music scene. The BMT’s performed a diverse array of music, including classic 1950s hits from legends like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino, and were known for their performances at Max’s Kansas City on Sundays. They even took their talents to Europe in the early ‘80s after their single “Crazy Little Mama”—a cover of a doo-wop song—climbed the UK charts.

Byrnes first encountered the Stray Cats during one of their frequent performances at TK’s Place in Long Island. “I was only 19 years old, and I remember watching them, thinking, ‘What the hell is this?’” Byrnes recalls with a chuckle. “Their energy was unbelievable. It felt like a three-ring circus, and they were incredibly animated. They had the best stage moves I had ever witnessed. I became an instant fan. I vividly remember Brian in a vibrant orange zoot suit and pink pompadour—though I can’t be certain he wore that. Jim was standing on the bass drum while playing the snare and cymbal, and Lee was situated in the crook of the upright bass. It was like an acrobatics show. The music was exhilarating, and the trio brought a level of musicianship to rockabilly that was unprecedented.” Byrnes later met the band after the show, only for Phantom, Rocker, and Setzer to leave for London shortly after.

After listening to the Stray Cats’ early recordings, Byrnes was impressed by how authentically they captured the raw sound and electrifying energy of their music. “I’ve always believed that Bill Haley’s records were among the best-sounding of that era, like ‘Rock Around the Clock’ and ‘See You Later, Alligator.’ The way the stand-up bass and snare drums were recorded is remarkable; it’s incredibly tight and polished. When I first heard ‘Runaway Boys,’ I instantly thought, ‘That’s it right there.’ Dave Edmunds completely nailed it with these guys.” Byrnes recalls that the Stray Cats returned to the States after their initial success in London, possibly in December 1980, when Setzer came back to Massapequa for the holidays or during their one-off performance at the Bond International Casino in New York in January 1981.

“They organized a coming-home party for Brian—I don’t think it was a celebration for the whole band—and we were the band for the event,” Byrnes reminisces. “When he arrived, he saw us and someone rushed home to grab his guitar and amp. That was the first time we played together.”

Even after achieving fame with the Stray Cats, Setzer occasionally joined the BMT’s on stage for local performances while still residing on Long Island. An edition of the Hofstra Herald from October 1982, the student newspaper of Hofstra University, reported that Setzer had recently jammed with the band at Heckle and Jeckles, a local bar in Massapequa, and both he and Rocker performed with them at Arrows, another bar in Bellmore. “Brian and I quickly became friends, and he would often come down to jam with us at Heckles since it was local for him,” Byrnes shares. “He would bring along guests, like Dave Edmunds, and they would jam together. I would hang out with him and visit his house to play guitar.”

Despite the growing friendship between Byrnes and Setzer, the invitation to join the Stray Cats caught him completely off guard. Before joining the band, Byrnes was playing with a group called the Velcros, who had opened for Van Halen on their 1984 tour (the Velcros had previously opened for Stray Cats in 1982). At that time, Van Halen typically selected unsigned bands to open for them, and Byrnes humorously recounted experiences of being pelted with debris by enthusiastic Van Halen fans when he met Eddie Van Halen backstage at the inaugural Farm Aid. “One day, I visited Brian—he lived in Old Westbury then—and we went to his music room. He started playing a Stray Cats song,” Byrnes explains. “He asked me, ‘What would you play if I played this?’ We started jamming on different versions of ‘Stray Cat Strut’ and some other songs. Then he said, ‘Good, how would you like to join the band?’ I was stunned and said, ‘What?’ He replied, ‘I’ve been doing this three-piece for so long, and I’d really like to add another dimension to it.’ I was thrilled and said, ‘Absolutely!’ I was a massive fan, and Brian was my first guitar hero that I had ever met.”

Byrnes began rehearsing with Setzer, who introduced him to many musicians who had influenced the sound of the Stray Cats. “I knew Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Gene Vincent, but I was unfamiliar with Cliff Gallup, Gene’s guitarist, and Scotty Moore, who played for Elvis,” he reflects. “I recognized Jimi Hendrix from my knowledge of guitarists, but I didn’t grasp the intricacies that made those records so exceptional.”

Byrnes’ role as the “fourth Stray Cat” introduced a fresh visual and sonic dynamic to the band, and his brief stint of fewer than twenty shows over a two-month period at the end of their initial run often surprises dedicated fans of the Stray Cats when they learn about his involvement. Although he was never officially announced as a member of the band, he did appear in a few posed photos with the trio, suggesting he may have been on the verge of becoming a permanent member had the band not disbanded at the end of 1984.
Following the Fourth of July performance on Long Island, the four-piece Stray Cats played two additional U.S. shows—July 6 at Milwaukee’s Summerfest music festival and July 8 at Trout Aire Amphitheatre in Minneapolis—before heading overseas for three festival appearances (two in France and one in Switzerland). During both U.S. shows, the band opened for George Thorogood and the Destroyers, another roots-rock artist known for his inclination towards Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker, who was also signed to EMI America at the time. One of the songs the four-piece Stray Cats performed at Festival D’Exilir in St. Pabu, France, “Rebels Rule,” was broadcast on television, marking the only known professionally filmed footage of Byrnes performing with the band.

The Stray Cats returned to North America for their final tour shows, culminating in a performance at Kingswood Music Theatre in Toronto on July 29. “The first time I saw them was at Kingswood Music Theatre at Canada’s Wonderland, just north of Toronto,” recalls Lee McCormack, a musician and host of the Tramps Like Us music podcast. “I was ten years old, and by then, I was two years into my fandom. I was ecstatic that my father took me because he was also a fan. While the specifics are a bit hazy, I recall having an incredible time listening to those songs live and seeing the guys in person. They emerged on stage in leather jackets, hair slicked back, and exuding coolness. The stage was stripped down and raw, a stark contrast to the elaborate productions of other bands during that era. I was immersed in heavy metal shows where excess was the norm—big stages, walls of amps, pyro, and extravagant lights. But here was Slim Jim with a simple stand-up drum kit and a couple of amps for Brian. I distinctly remember seeing a few trash cans on stage, adorned with spray paint graffiti, possibly doubling as guitar stands, with the neck of a Gretsch guitar peeking out. The audience was a blend of rockabilly enthusiasts and punk rockers. In that moment, everything clicked. After listening to their records for two years, the music had come to life before my eyes.

During the tour, the band also reinvented their setlist, which is showcased in a recording of their concert at the Park West in Chicago on August 6, 1984. While classics like “Rumble in Brighton,” “Runaway Boys,” “Stray Cat Strut,” “(She’s Sexy) + 17,” “Fishnet Stockings,” “Something’s Wrong With My Radio,” and “Rock This Town” remained staples, the band also included covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Hey Tonight” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” as well as a surprising rendition of “Love Is All Around,” the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Stray Cats had previously released “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” as the B-side to the “Rebels Rule” single, although the sleeve mistakenly identifies it as “Lookin’ Through My Back Door.” Perhaps most notably, they debuted three unreleased original songs: “Time Is on My Hands,” “Barbwire Fence,” and “Bobby’s Back.” The first of these, “Time Is on My Hands,” is a slower blues jam featuring an extended guitar solo by Byrnes, with Rocker taking the lead vocals. This track would later appear on the first Phantom, Rocker, and Slick album, credited as a Phantom-Rocker composition, with the guitar solo reworked by Earl Slick.

The latter two tracks eventually surfaced on Setzer’s solo album, The Knife Feels Like Justice, and both are credited solely to Setzer. “Barbwire Fence,” as performed by the Stray Cats, is almost fully realized as the version that appears on Setzer’s solo record, dealing with more serious themes. The lyrics use the barbwire fence as a metaphor for the divisions in humanity as we harm the earth and each other (Setzer later revealed in Guitar World that he wrote “Barbwire Fence” in response to the Cold War). While Setzer opted to play banjo on the solo album version to emphasize its country influence, the Stray Cats’ rendition is a powerful rock anthem.

Conversely, “Bobby’s Back” varies in some parts from the version that Setzer ultimately released. This soulful track features slightly different lyrics, including an unfinished chorus, depicting the story of a character named Bobby who is released from prison and finds that much of his past life has changed—his girlfriend has moved on, and his friends have settled down. The song concludes with the revelation that Bobby dies in a car accident years later, depicted differently in the Stray Cats’ version than in Setzer’s later interpretation. The lyrics of both versions hint at a more serious narrative than the typical Stray Cats song, where speeding in a car was often celebrated as a thrilling adventure. Byrnes’ harmony vocals add depth to this track, hinting at what a circa 1985 Stray Cats album may have sounded like, suggesting that all three songs were potential candidates for their next album, had the band not disbanded. To date, no demo versions from 1984 have surfaced.

The themes explored in the lyrics of these future Setzer solo tracks undoubtedly reflect a more mature perspective compared to the songs from the band’s earlier three albums. Setzer himself acknowledged earlier in the year to Trouser Press the need for evolution: “With the next album, we’ll have to make some changes. I can’t keep singing about hot rods and Harleys forever, nor do I want to. I desire to grow and write about different subjects.” While Setzer took this approach in his next project, his first solo album, in the long run, he remained largely consistent in crafting and performing music that echoes the themes of his early hits even four decades later.

Despite signs indicating a promising future for the band four years after their explosive debut in London, their popularity had significantly diminished in the UK, where they had enjoyed a nearly two-year head start. Consequently, it became reasonable to expect that their appeal in North America might similarly fade in the months following. “When one of your albums sells two million copies and the next only sells 500,000—though that’s still enough to achieve gold status, which is more than what most records achieve—it’s seen as a failure,” Rocker explained to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette two years later. “Maintaining success in this business is one of the toughest challenges.”