Blair Crimmins & the Hookers, ‘Top of the Class’ [Exclusive Premiere]

Ragtime-country bandleader Blair Crimmins and his band the Hookers are debuting a brand-new track, “Top of the Class,” exclusively for readers of The Boot.

Fusing jazz, Dixieland and the blues, Crimmins and the Hookers are known for old-school tunes with a heavy sprinkling of snark. In “Top of the Class,” Crimmins offers an empowering message on an unlikely subject: one-night stands.

"My wife was the one that gave me the initial idea for this song during a discussion about how one-night stands are portrayed in movies,” Crimmins tells The Boot. “She noted how the girls are always sneaking out of the guy's apartment, carrying their shoes and hoping nobody catches them, but the men are completely unashamed and proud of themselves. I just thought, 'Why shouldn’t everyone be proud that they hooked up the night before?'"

Once he had the idea, Crimmins composed a Harry Nilsson-inspired piano medley with a “rhythm that you could proudly strut down the street to.” But in order to keep the material from getting a little too obscene, Crimmins had to get creative.

“As I started developing the lyrics, I became conflicted over how I was going to get the point across, because I wanted to be very clear about the topic but not obscene or heavy handed. I kept coming to a point in the road where I was going to say something I didn’t really want to say,” he explains. “I thought it should be more clever than that. How do I make it obvious and still not say the obvious? You let the listener say it for you!"

Press play below to hear “Top of the Class,” the first single from Blair Crimmins & the Hookers’ forthcoming album, titled You Gotta Sell Something. The project is set for release on Feb. 17, 2017, and can be pre-ordered via iTunes.

Listen to Blair Crimmins & the Hookers, "Top of the Class":