Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

group

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in ...

, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his

swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...

band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...

in the film '' La Bamba''. In February 2025, Setzer shared that he has an

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...

which prevents him from playing guitar.

Career

Stray Cats

Setzer was born April 1959 in Massapequa, New York. He started on the

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

and played in jazz bands when he was in school. He found a way to hear jazz at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jaz ...

, though 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 began with his brother, Gary. The Tomcats became the

when double bassist

Lee Rocker Leon Drucker (born August 3, 1961), professionally known as Lee Rocker is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly band Stray Cats. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker, the late former principal clarinet ...

and drummer

Slim Jim Phantom James McDonnell, known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he is considered a pioneer of the neo-rockabilly movemen ...

joined and Gary left the band. In 1980, thinking they might have more success in England than in America, they sold their instruments to pay for airplane tickets and flew to London. After performing in London for a few months, they met

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

, a guitarist and record producer who shared their love of rockabilly and 1950s' rock and roll. Edmunds produced their debut album, ''

'' ( Arista, 1981), which yielded two hit singles: "

Stray Cat Strut "Stray Cat Strut" is the third single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released April 17, 1981 by Arista Records in the UK, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Singles Chart. It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, ''S ...

" and "

Rock This Town "Rock This Town" is the second single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released January 30, 1981 by Arista Records in the U.K., where it peaked at No. 9 on the Singles Chart. It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, ''Stray Cats''. ...

". The second album, ''

Gonna Ball ''Gonna Ball'' is the second studio album by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, first released in the UK by Arista Records in November 1981. The album was produced by the band and Hein Hoven. It went silver in the UK. Five of the album's trac ...

'' (Arista, 1982), was less successful. The band returned to America and released '' Built for Speed'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, 1982), produced again by Dave Edmunds, with songs collected from their first two albums. Helped by their music videos on MTV, the Stray Cats became popular in America. Their next album, ''

Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats ''Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats'' is the third studio album by American rockabilly revivalist band Stray Cats, released in 1983 by EMI America. It was produced by Dave Edmunds. The album featured the No. 5 hit " (She's) Sexy + 17", Top 40 hi ...

'' (EMI, 1983) produced the hit " (She's) Sexy + 17". The Stray Cats disbanded in 1984, though they occasionally reunited, recorded, and toured. After recording three albums with different producers, they returned to Dave Edmunds for '' Choo Choo Hot Fish'' (1992).

Solo career/The Brian Setzer Orchestra

After the Stray Cats disbanded in 1984, Setzer began a solo career that included working as a sideman for other acts, such as

the Honeydrippers The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally ...

led by

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

. On his first solo album, '' The Knife Feels Like Justice'' (EMI, 1986), he turned away from rockabilly and moved toward rhythm and blues ( R&B) and the

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The g ...

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

. The album was produced by Don Gehman and featured

Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...

on drums. Both men had worked on albums by Mellencamp. His second studio album ''Live Nude Guitars'' followed in 1988. While this album retained some heartland rock elements, it found Setzer moving in more of a straight-ahead

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

direction, comparable to

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s US rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Al ...

's style; Setzer served as co-producer along with Larson Paine, Chris Thomas and David A. Stewart. He went on tour with Thorogood later that year. Setzer returned to his love of music from the 1950s, this time the

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

. Whereas he had resurrected rockabilly in the 1980s, he resuscitated swing in the 1990s. He assembled the Brian Setzer Orchestra, a seventeen piece big band that got the public's attention with a cover version of Prima's " Jump, Jive an' Wail" from the album '' The Dirty Boogie'' (

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, 1998). The song won the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011 (in its final year, it was awarded for recordings issued in 2010). The award had several minor name changes: *From 1966 to 1967, the award ...

, while "

Sleep Walk "Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was record ...

" from the same album won the Grammy for

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

. The album '' Wolfgang's Big Night Out'' (2007) featured Setzer's interpretation of classical pieces, such as Beethoven's " Symphony No. 5" and "

Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (WoO59, Biamonti Catalogue, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most significant popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being disc ...

". ''Wolfgang'' earned Setzer his eighth Grammy nomination, this time for Best Classical Crossover Album. He executive produced the album ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

'' ( Surfdog, 2014) by

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

and played guitar on two songs. On June 25, 2021, Setzer announced a new solo album, his first in 7 years, titled ''Gotta Have the Rumble''.

Personal life

Setzer has been married three times, first to DeAnna Madsen with whom he has one son, second to Christine Schmidt with whom he has two children, and most recently in 2005 to Julie Reiten, a former singer with the Dustbunnies. He lives in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. In February 2025, Setzer shared that he has an

which prevents him from playing guitar.

Awards and honors

* Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999 *

, " Jump, Jive an' Wail", 1998 *

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011. *In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental *From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance ...

, "

" and "

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

" * Long Island Music Hall of Fame, 2015

Discography

Solo

* '' The Knife Feels Like Justice'' (EMI, 1986) * ''Live Nude Guitars'' (EMI, 1988) * ''Rockin' by Myself'' (InsideOut

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km2. Overview-Twin Towns-sister Cities As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was a ...

1993) * '' Ignition!'' (Surfdog, 2001) * ''

Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy ''Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy'' is the eleventh solo album from American musician Brian Setzer, released in 2003 on Surfdog Records. He said, when released, that it was the most personal record he had ever done. He ventured away from his tradition ...

'' (Surfdog, 2003) * ''Rockabilly Riot Vol. 1: A Tribute to Sun Records'' (Surfdog, 2005) * '' 13'' (Surfdog, 2006) * ''Red Hot & Live'' (Surfdog, 2007) * '' Setzer Goes Instru-Mental!'' (Surfdog, 2011) * ''Rockabilly Riot! Live from the Planet'' (Surfdog, 2012) * '' Rockabilly Riot! All Original'' (Surfdog, 2014) * ''Gotta Have the Rumble'' (Surfdog, 2021) * ''The Devil Always Collects'' (Surfdog, 2023) The Brian Setzer Orchestra * '' The Brian Setzer Orchestra'' (

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, 1994) * '' Guitar Slinger'' (Interscope, 1996) * '' The Dirty Boogie'' (Interscope, 1998) * '' Vavoom!'' (Interscope, 2000) * '' Jumpin' East of Java'' (Toy's Factory, 2001) * '' Boogie Woogie Christmas'' (Surfdog, 2002) * '' Dig That Crazy Christmas'' (Surfdog, 2005) * '' Wolfgang's Big Night Out'' (Surfdog, 2007) * '' Songs from Lonely Avenue'' (Surfdog, 2009) * ''Christmas Comes Alive'' (Surfdog, 2010) * '' Rockin' Rudolph'' (Surfdog, 2015)

As member

Bloodless Pharaohs * ''Marty Thau Presents 12 x 5'' (Red Star, 1980) on two tracks * ''Brian Setzer and the Bloodless Pharaohs'' (Collectables, 1996) Stray Cats * ''

'' (1981) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Built for Speed'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) * ''Rock Therapy'' (1986) * ''Blast Off!'' (1989) * ''Let's Go Faster!'' (1990) * ''The Best of the Stray Cats: Rock This Town'' (1990) * '' Choo Choo Hot Fish'' (1992) * ''Original Cool'' (1993) * ''Rumble in Brixton'' (2004) * ''40'' (2019)

As guest

* '' Come Out and Play'',

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

(1985) * ''Deep in the Heart of Nowhere'',

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

(1986) * ''Sentimental Hygiene'',

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer and songwriter. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All t ...

(1987) * ''Closer to the Flame'',

(1989) * '' Two Fires'',

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...

(1990) * ''Traffic from Paradise'',

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

(1993) * '' Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters'',

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

(1993) * ''La Bamba'',

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

(1993) * ''Toolin' Around'', Arlen Roth (1993) * ''Bug Alley'', Gary Hoey (1996) * '' Cheating at Solitaire'',

Mike Ness Michael James Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. He has also released two solo albums, '' Cheating at Sol ...

(1999) * ''Beatin' the Heat'', Dan Hicks (2000) * ''Ghost on the Canvas'',

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

(2011) * ''Step Back'',

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

(2014) * ''Ready Steady Go!'',

(2014) * "Uptown Number 7", Dion from '' Blues with Friends'' (2020)

DVDs

* ''Brian Setzer Orchestra Live in Japan'' (2001) * ''Rumble in Brixton'' (2004) * ''Brian Setzer Orchestra Live: Christmas Extravaganza'' (2005) * ''One Rockin' Night ('95)'' (2007) * ''Live in Montreal Jazz Festival'' (2010) * ''Rockabilly Riot! Osaka Rocka Live in Japan'' (2016) * ''Brian Setzer Orchestra Live: Christmas Rocks!'' (2018)

Musical equipment

Brian Setzer has a very large guitar collection which spans many decades and brands. He favours vintage equipment and hollow body guitars, and currently endorses

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Fri ...

guitars. Vintage guitars: *

D'Angelico John D'Angelico (1905 in Little Italy, Manhattan Little Italy () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, once known for its Italian American population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, ...

Excel - 1938 * D'Angelico New Yorker - 1940 *

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

Model D-28 Acoustic - 1956 *

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

Turquoise - 1957 *

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

Bluesbird - 1959 *

Model 6130 Round Up - 1955 * Gretsch Model 6128 Black Duo Jet - 1958 * Gretsch Model 6136 White Falcon - 1957 * Gretsch Model 6129 Silver Jet - No Pickguard - 1957 * Gretsch Model 6129 Silver Jet - White Pickguard - 1957 * Gretsch Model 6136 White Falcon - 1957 * Gretsch Model 6129 Silver Jet - Black Pickguard - 1958 * Gretsch Model 6120 "Stray Cat" - 1959 * Gretsch Model 6120 Chet Atkins - 1959 * Gretsch Model 6119 "Christmas Custom" - 1959 * Gretsch Model 6119 Blue Sparkle Jet - 1959 * Gretsch Model 6120 - 1960 * Gretsch Model 6119 - 1960 * Gibson Firebird V - 1964 Signature guitars: * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Signature Prototype * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Hot Rod Custom Purple * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Hot Rod Custom "Pinstripe" * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Hot Rod Custom "Spotty" * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Hot Rod Custom "Sparkle Red" * Gretsch Model 6120 Setzer Hot Rod Custom "Sparkle Blue" * Gretsch Model 6120 SSLVO Brian Setzer Signature * Gretsch Model 6120 SSL Brian Setzer Signature * Gretsch Model 6120 SSU Brian Setzer Signature * Gretsch Model 6120 SSUGR Brian Setzer Signature * Gretsch Model 6136SLBP Brian Setzer Black Phoenix * Indie Model With White GT Stripes Other guitars: * Bigsby Custom - 2003

References

External links

* *
Brian Setzer Interview
at NAMM Oral History Library (2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Setzer, Brian 1959 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists American bandleaders American blues guitarists American expatriates in the United Kingdom American rock guitarists American rockabilly guitarists American lead guitarists American male guitarists American male singers American rockabilly musicians American rock singers Dead Men Walking members Grammy Award winners Guitarists from New York (state) Massapequa High School alumni People from Massapequa, New York People from Oyster Bay (town), New York Singers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) Stray Cats members Swing revival musicians Swing singers The Honeydrippers members