Brian Setzer Orchestra - "Jump Jive An' Wail"

[A Thug Named Slickback]

Heh! I can't put on a pair of khakis without thinking about this song.  This was a great song on its own, but it was made more memorable by the great Gap Khaki ads that featured Louis Prima's original version.

This was a really great throwback to 1940s/1950s swing music.  I still listen to this song every now and then. A really fun tune.

Interestingly, Brian Setzer used to front the Stray Cats in the 1980s ("Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut").  The band used to make exactly the same kind of music..

There was a really brief period in the late 1990s when people were digging these sorts of swing tunes: Cherry Poppin' Daddies & Big Bad Woodoo Daddy had swing hits.

Cool dancing in the video!

Hot 100: #94    Hot 100 Airplay: #23     UK: #34

[johnnywest]

It sounds like he's singing, "You gotta drunk driver in your way."

[singingsparrow]

johnnywest said:

It sounds like he's singing, "You gotta drunk driver in your way."

That's EXACTLY how I heard the chorus before too! ;)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[jimmy74747]

I hate this song

[jdmasta289]

singingsparrow said:

johnnywest said:

It sounds like he's singing, "You gotta drunk driver in your way."

That's EXACTLY how I heard the chorus before too!  ;)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

Interesting, because I used to think he said "Drunk Drivin'" instead of "Jump Jive'N", except I could never make out the second part. I didn't know until the other day that the Stray Cats and the Orchestra were fronted by the same guy. I remember in sixth grade, when the "swing mini-fad" was in, performing swing dances throughout the theatre in a school choir performance. Ahhh, the memories of middle school!

[tico]

I love this! So much for the mini-swing era, though.

[Mega248]

I found this rather annoying back in the day, but when I heard it again earlier this year (for the first time in at least a few years), I didn't really mind it at all.

[giovannina]

I love Louis Prima, and his original version of this song is great! But Brian Setzer would've been right at home in the jive era, and his version is great too!

I'm still partial to Bryan's work with The Stray Cats, though.

[joker]

The swing mini-craze was fun while it lasted.. I liked this.

I'm still partial to Bryan's work with The Stray Cats, though.

I do agree with this, too.

[oscillations.]

I love the Stray Cats, but I was 13 when this came out, so I was introduced retroactively to his Cats' era music. I loved this song and the entire mini-revival of swing in 1998, because I actually can jitterbug very well. (I grew up listening to jazz and classic swing before rock).

[Deleted]

I like this song a lot, but it's not my favorite Brian Setzer. I'm a big fan of Brian Setzer, both with his orchestra and with the stray cats. (I love his BSO Christmas albums too.) I'm also a fan of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

LOL at the drunk drivin' lyrics. I'll never hear this song quite the same way now!

[shocker]

This was my #2 favorite song of 1998 (right behind Eric Clapton's "My Father's Eyes").

I really got into the swing revival during the late '90s. Setzer's Dirty Boogie was the best, but there was also some good material released by Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Royal Crown Revue.

The revival lasted about 2 years, then seemed to quickly fade away as soon as 2000 came around.

[BillboardBoy]

This was out around the same time that Cherry Poppin' Daddies were with "Zoot Suit Riot." I liked that one better.

[JCMF3]

shocker said:

I really got into the swing revival during the late '90s. Setzer's Dirty Boogie was the best, but there was also some good material released by Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Royal Crown Revue.

I never thought of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones as a swing band.

Anyways, this is my favorite song of the "mini-swing revival" era.

[johnnywest]

Mediocre.