Some of you will remember the 80’s. Now, I’m a millennial cat but my human has told me about those crazy days of silly fashion and even sillier hairdoes.
Don’t worry, you’re not about to be rick-rolled.
I’m talking about the Stray Cats and in particular, their most famous song, Stray Cat Strut
And since these cats are also 80’s cats hilarity naturally ensues. Stray Cats of a very particular kind, if you ask me but with a nice beat nonetheless.
Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at. Everybody’s pickin’ up on that feline beat, ’cause everything else is obsolete. Now a square with a horn, can make you wish you weren’t born, ever’time he plays; and with a square in the act, he can set music back to the caveman days. I’ve heard some corny birds who tried to sing, but a cat’s the only cat who knows how to swing. Who wants to dig a long-haired gig or stuff like that? When everybody wants to be a cat. A square with that horn, makes you wish you weren’t born, ever’time he plays; and with a square in the act, he’s gonna set this music back to the Stone Age days. Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at; while playin’ jazz you always has a Welcome mat, ’cause everybody digs a swingin’ cat. Everybody digs a swingin’ cat.
The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots in America in 1943 during World War II that were essentially old stylegang rivalrynot disimilar to that of mods and rockers. The rivalry exploded in Los Angeles, between white sailors and Marines (patriots) and Latino youths (rebels), outstanding by the zoot suits they wore. The Zoot Suit Riots were in part the effect of the infamous Sleepy Lagoon murder which involved the death of a young Latino man in a barrio near Los Angeles.
…a flamboyant long coat with baggy pegged pants, a pork pie hat, a long key chain and shoes with thick soles.
The ‘Sleepy Lagoon’ case made national news in 1942 when teenage members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of murdering a man named Jose Diaz in an abandoned quarry pit. This case created a lot of anti-Mexican sentiment and the 9 men were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms.
This time, I’d like to feature another famous cat. Tom Cat. Which -incidentally, ties nicely with my previous post.
Tom Cat
Now, Tom Cat is a short hair cat like me who unfortunately has to share living quarters and screen credits with the most annoying mouse in the history of mice. However, despite all the grief he gets from Jerry Mouse, the pair went on to win several Academy Awards in their long acting career (which includes 275 short movies, a three-decade running TV show and a feature film). And he got to have some fun doing it so I guess it’s not all bad.
In the Cat Concerto short, Tom plays a piano virtuoso who is giving a piano recital of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.
Then, un-cool, un-hep and definitely un-cat Jerry the mouse ruins the recital -even changing the rhapsody to a song called On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe at some point, tortures poor Tom and ends up taking all the applause and credit for himself! The nerve of that insolent mouse!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against mice. They’re great to play with. Tons of fun, actually. But this Jerry mouse is bad, bad news.
And the same goes for the song. On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe is a very fine song, sung by the very fine Judy Garland. So fine, that it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. And Judy Garland, well, she’s simply too cool for words.
But so rudely interrupting such a beautiful performance of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Tom Cat? well, that is nothing short of blasphemous.
Nonetheless, this is a great short movie. Just ignore the little pest.
Sorry, it’s been so long since my last Jazz post. I’ve been very busy what with being the poster boy for some really cool Jazz-related events. I’ll try to be more prolific in the future.Here’s song I like a lot. It’s about another very famous hep cat, my cousin Felix.
Felix The Cat
This song was released in 1928 and was done by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke on Cornet.
But that is not all. I opened the book and guess what I found?
All That JazzCat! 