Zoot Suit Riot (song)

Zoot Suit Riot (song)

"Zoot Suit Riot" is a song by American ska-swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. It was written and composed by Steve Perry for the band's 1997 swing compilation album of the same name, and thus follows a musical style similar to 1940s jump swing.

"Zoot Suit Riot" is often cited as the catalyst which helped initiate the late 1990s swing revival. Issued as a single in late 1997, regular airplay on stations such as Los Angeles' influential KROQ-FM helped boost the song to #15 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart and the album onto the Billboard 200, where the Daddies eventually became the first swing revival band to crack the latter's top 40 in June 1998. A surrealist music video became one of MTV's most played of 1998, earning the Daddies a nomination for "Best New Artist in a Video" at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.