BRIAN SETZER

Born: in New York, New York, 10 April 1959

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: The Dirty Boogie (1998)

Hit songs since 1990: "Jump, Jive an' Wail"

Asolid music education, respect for history, energetic singing, and technically proficient guitar picking helped Brian Setzer modernize, revitalize, and capture the nearly forgotten fire of
the venerable and influential American genres of rockabilly and swing.

Raised in Massapequa, New York, Setzer began learning guitar as a kid. By the time he was a teenager, he had absorbed his teacher's jazz lessons and loved coloring his assigned songs with jazzy modulations. Though he didn't know it at the time, his learning how to read and write music, as opposed to just playing by ear, would become a key advantage in his eclectic career.

With Slim Jim Phanton and Lee Rocker, Setzer assembled the rockabilly-revival Stray Cats in 1979. The group used classic Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley moves as influences, but added a little bit of Rust Belt lyrical menace to the mix. The group scored big with "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" from Built for Speed (1982), and "She's Sexy + 17" from Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats (1983). Setzer did most of the songwriting, and his quivering vocals seemed to arrive from a 1959 time warp. By 1984 Setzer thought his band mates had let success go to their heads. He quit and headed to Los Angeles to regroup.

His solo debut, The Knife Feels Like Justice (1986), finds Setzer groping for a solo identity. Produced by Don Gehman, the album follows the mid-1980s album-rock template of punched-up backbeats and jangly guitar. Setzer comes across as a minor-league Tom Petty or John Mellencamp. The music lacks Setzer's energetic stamp, and his vocals don't remind anyone of his Stray Cats days either. Gone is his rebellious sneer, supplanted by a more generic baritone. Interestingly, his move to Los Angeles seems to have awakened him to the Chicano movement, as "Maria" and "Aztec" promote Mexican conquest of the southwestern United States. While the title track was a middling rock-radio hit, many observers guessed that Setzer's best days were behind him.

Spot Light: Swing Dance Revival

One of the late 1990s most interesting fads, swing dancing, was started by a rocker who hadn't had a hit in fifteen years. Brian Setzer, who had already recorded two so-so selling albums with his Brian Setzer Orchestra, persevered once again to release The Dirty Boogie (1998). One of the cuts is an uptempo cover of the Louis Prima chestnut "Jump, Jive An' Wail." With a bouncy sax riff and a traditional twelve-bar blues structure, the only thing modern about the song was its production value. But improbably, the tune caught on at radio and helped propel a revival of swing dancing, which the press extolled for its emphasis on touch and athleticism. Just as "Stayin' Alive" sent middle America to discos, "Jump, Jive An' Wail" sent it to ballrooms. Here was a song from the last person anyone expected to score a hit in 1998, done in the style least likely to jump to the upper reaches of the Top 40 charts. While swing didn't take over the charts, the retro hipness of "Jump, Jive An' Wail" rescued the style from its musty stereotype and made it a cool activity for young couples to participate in for years to come.

The Stray Cats reunited for the indifferently received Blast Off (1989) and suffered an even worse flop with Choo Choo Hot Fish (1994). However, Setzer had another project in the works that led to a comeback—the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Fusing jazz, blues, and rockabilly with a meatier big-band backing, Setzer updated 1940s swing music and helped promote awareness of the genre, just as he'd done for 1950s rockabilly in the 1980s. The Brian Setzer Orchestra (1994) represents a bold move; few critics thought the public would care about a washed-up rocker digging even further into the nostalgia well. Another risk for Setzer was financial—he had gone more than ten years without a money-making hit, and first-class big bands are expensive. But though the album wasn't a blockbuster, it sold well enough to convince Setzer he was on to something. "Lady Luck" channels Sinatra with a swing tempo, baritone vocals, and the resigned lyrics "bartender, pour a double." He more overtly pays tribute to Sinatra on the jazz ballad "September Skies." Setzer nimbly shifts to Paul Shaffer–like jazz/rock with "Ball and Chain." The call-and-response "Sittin' on It All the Time" provides double-entendre humor over a squealing sax solo. Setzer doesn't use his Stray Cats voice, using a more dignified croon, and he finally shows he has important contributions to make outside the group.

Setzer sounds more like his Stray Cats self on The Dirty Boogie (1998), also recorded with the orchestra. Slinging his words instead of crooning them, Setzer leaves no doubt that he's reverted to his old singing style. More confident, he mugs with theatrical élan on the minor-key blues title track. The socially conscious poet of the mid-1980s has given way to the upscale hipster urging listeners to follow their wanderlust on the jazz/rock/swing "Let's Live It Up."

Still restless, Setzer formed a three-piece rock band in 2001, the '68 Comeback Special, whose name pays tribute to Elvis Presley's famous NBC concert. His group's Ignition! (2001) contains his usual explosive fire and shows off his excellent guitar playing. Setzer adopts an advanced-rockabilly style called flatpicking, whereby he plays the melody with his thumb and fingers and squeezes the pick in his palm.

Aside from the occasional misstep, Setzer has made a career out of creating his own trends instead of following others'. With his rebellious voice, amazing guitar playing, and knowledge of many styles, Setzer has given his fans a history lesson and a peek into the future.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

The Knife Feels Like Justice (Razor & Tie, 1986); The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Hollywood, 1994); The Dirty Boogie (Interscope, 1998); Ignition! (Hollywood/Surf, 2001).

ramiro burr