Stray Cat Strut by the Stray Cats.
I love the bass and swingy beat of this song. Spotify says it’s rockabilly. What are some other good songs like it?
That song appears to be a direct ripoff of Pink Pedal Pushers by Carl Perkins, so you can start there.
Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles.
Rockabilly is a relatively old music form. Lots of it around. Check out Elvis’ version of Blue Moon of Kentucky.
Try Wrap it up by the Fabulous Thunderbirds, it came out around the same time as Stray Cat Strut and has a very similar sound.
I saw Brian Setzer & The Stray Cats play Pittsburgh at Station Square in Pittsburgh. They did a train song (they do several) and coincidentally, a freight train went by the venue. The lighting guy swung a spot around to catch the train. It was magical.
Check out Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It’s swing, not rockabilly, but definitely has a “swingy beat”.
And if you like swing, The Brian Setzer Orchestra is another good one.
Original here. Not rockabilly, but great stuff.
Yeah, the Stray Cats had a deliberately retro sound. I remember once when I was a teen in the early 80s: I was in the car with my mom, and a Stray Cats song came on the radio, and she thought it sounded like the kind of music from when she was younger.
If you are anywhere near Pittsburgh, check out Jimmy Adler.
Jimmy is always a good time.
Newer than Perkins, but older than Stray Cats, check out Blank Generation by Richard Hell and the Voidoids. I read that Setzer played on the same bill as them before writing Stray Cat Strut.
Hayes Carll. Just saying.
I’m feeling like I’m back in college in the mid-90s. Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (huh…somehow never realized how cringey that name is until now–how in the hell did I miss that?) is another one that has a similar feel to me as the OP, though with a harder swing and peppy horn section. But back when neo-Swing was a thing, Stray Cats would often get thrown into the mix, too, to slightly mix things up, while still maintaining a swing feel.
Australian HorrorBilly/Creepy Rockabilly??? Zombie Ghost Train.
The Clash did some covers with a similar rockabilly/punk vibe. Check out:
ETA: there’s a whole subgenre of a kind of hybrid of rockabilly/punk, called psychobilly. I’m not well versed in it, but check out the Cramps for instance.
The Cramps are awesome–I’ve worn out about five copies of “Psychedelic Jungle” in various formats ever since the day it was playing over the speakers at the local Tower Records and I bought a copy (that I still have!) on vinyl. I also love Stray Cats and Brian Setzer too (he does a cover of “Boddhisattva” that’s insanely good) so I feel fairly comfortable thinking The Cramps would suit your mood too.
Treat Her Right might fill the bill too–check out “Hank,” see if that gets your foot tapping. That’s not the best version–it’s a rough live cut (music starts around 45 seconds in and the studio version isn’t available on YouTube for whatever reason) but it has a lot of swagger and the studio version is one of the best singalong songs I know.
Could be. Just as likely, or maybe more likely, that was Setzer’s previous band, though – the Bloodless Pharaohs. Definitely not rockabilly.
I only know this 'cause the Stray Cats (under their earlier name, the Tomcats) were a local bar band (for me). They were more or less the house band at a bar in Massapequa (or Massapequa Park, can’t remember), and they were fantastic. Richard Hell pretty much was a local band, too, at CBGB. I’m not a scholar of this stuff or anything, didn’t know any of this was a “scene,” or anything like that.
Also on the scene at the time was Robert Gordon. If the OP is looking for one of the original neo-rockabilly artists, Gordon is pretty much the granddaddy.
When you need a break from the horns and zoot suits, I’ve got two words for you: Marshall Crenshaw.
This guy can rock a billy with only his guitar. His first album is one of my favorites - unadulterated pickin’ ‘n’ bouncin’. No surprise that he was tapped to play Buddy Holly on the big screen.
An appropriate post to follow my previous post, since Marshall Crenshaw wrote Robert Gordon’s biggest (only?) hit, “Someday Someway.” Side note – that’s the legendary Danny Gatton playing guitar in that video.
Definitely a great pop song, and Marshall Crenshaw was and is one of the great pop craftsmen of all time, but it ain’t rockabilly.
Crenshaw was another local band for me, a bit later than the Stray Cats. Once in a while he’d perform at CBGB under a phony name – the Handsome, Ruthless and Stupid Band. It’s a Dorothy Parker reference – Crenshaw was pretty literate.
Dave Edmunds does retro-rockabilly also.
Carl Perkins did a wonderful TV Special “A Rockabilly Session”. Among the musicians who appeared in it were Ringo Starr, Lee Rocker, Slim Jim Phantom, George Harrison, Dave Edmunds, Eric Clapton, and Rosanne Cash. It’s on YouTube.