Brian Setzer

At 65 years old, Brian Setzer has this physical status:

Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.

He had great success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, he resurrectered his career in the early 1990s.

Personal life

Setzer has been married three times, most recently to Julie Reiten, a former member of the Dustbunnies, who lives in Minneapolis.

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Career

Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York, in April 1959. When he was in high school, he started on the euphonium and performed in jazz bands. He discovered a way to hear jazz at the Village Vanguard, but as he got older, he became more interested in rock, punk, and rockabilly. He was a member of the Bloodless Pharaohs and the Tomcats, which he started with his brother, Gary. After double bassist Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom joined and Gary left the band, the Tomcats became the Stray Cats. They sold their devices to pay for airline tickets and flew to London in 1980, fearing they would have more success in England than in America.

Dave Edmunds, a guitarist and record producer who emphasized their obsession with rockabilly and 1950s' rock and roll, visited them after performing in London for a few months. Edmunds released their debut album, Stray Cats (Arista, 1981), which resulted in two hit singles, "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town." Gonna Ball, Arista, 1982, was less popular. With songs from their first two albums, the band returned to America and released Built for Speed (EMI, 1982), which was again produced by Dave Edmunds. The Stray Cats became extremely popular in America thanks to their music videos on MTV. Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats' (EMI, 1983), released the hit "She's) Sexy + 17" on their next album.

The Stray Cats disbanded in 1984, though they reformed, recorded, and toured. They returned to Dave Edmunds for Choo Choo Hot Fish (1992), after three albums with different designers.

Setzer began as a sideman for other bands, including the Honeydrippers commanded by Robert Plant, after the Stray Cats disbanded in 1984. He shifted away from rockabilly and toward rhythm and blues on his debut solo album, The Knife Feels Like Justice (EMI, 1986), and John Mellencamp's heartland rock. Don Gehman produced the album, with Kenny Aronoff on drums. Both men had appeared on Mellencamp's albums. Live Nude Guitars was his second studio album since 1988. Although this album included some heartland rock elements, Setzer discovered Setzer's style as co-producer along with Larson Paine, Chris Thomas, and David A. Stewart. Later this year, he went on tour with Thorogood.

Setzer returned to his love of music from the 1950s, this time the Louis Prima jump blues. In the 1990s, when he had revived rockabilly in the 1980s, he resuscitated swing. He assembled the Brian Setzer Orchestra, a seventeen piece big band that drew attention with a cover version of Prima's "Jive an' Wail" from the album The Dirty Boogie (Interscope, 1998). The album received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, while "Sleep Walk" from the same album received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Setzer's interpretation of classical works, such as Beethoven's "Symphony No. 1, was included in the album Wolfgang's Big Night Output (2006). "Für Elise" and 5". Setzer received his eighth Grammy Award, this time for Best Classical Crossover Album.

He was the artist who created the album Ready Steady Go! (Surfdog, 2014) by Drake Bell, who also played guitar on two tracks.

Setzer released Gotta Have the Rumble, his first in seven years, on June 25, 2021.

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Awards and honors

• Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999
• Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, "Jump, Jive an' Wail", 1998
• Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, "Sleep Walk" and "Caravan"
• Long Island Music Hall of Fame, 2015