Stray Cat Strut

Stray Cat Strut is a song I've like a lot since it came out in the 80's.  I can't say I was a huge Stray Cats fan in general, but they had a couple good songs, and this one great one.

I learned the basic chords to it a number of years ago from an Internet tab site (which are sometimes a big help on learning a song, but more often no help at all, as anybody can submit what they think is right.)  But the solos and fills always seemed beyond me.

Well, YouTube to the rescue again.  I found a video lesson on the chords (which I already knew), the intro, solos, and ending.  And what do you know, I can play them.  Not good enough to play it live, but with enough practice and repetition I could probably even do that.

It has a number of patterns that are very different from the normal blues 1/4/5 progression that so many songs are built from - jazzy sounding and very interesting.  And when the guy on the YouTube lesson gives the names of some of these chords, it's enough to make your head spin.

That repetition turned out to be a little problem though.  After a bit of time working on the solos, Darling Wife asked if maybe I wanted to play some other songs.  I took that hint and understood - you need a lot of reps to get something down, but that's not fun for someone else to listen to.  Fortunately both my amps have headphone jacks for just such an occasion.

Anyway, the song is fun to play and sounds great.

YouTube links to the song and the guitar lesson.