Atlanta band Blair Crimmins and The Hookers have been catching ears and gaining fans with their unique blend of ragtime and 1920’s style Dixieland Jazz with a contemporary twist and a touch of rock and roll. Crimmins inserts a fresh energy into all of these styles that lents itself to spontaneous, rowdy live performances. On February 17th the band will release their new album You Gotta Sell Something!, a fitting title at a time when us Americans find ourselves increasingly having to speak out against injustice and prejudice. Now Crimmins and his band have created a video for the album’s first single, “Top of the Class”, and today we are excited to offer an exclusive premiere of it right here on Glide Magazine.
The song kicks off with a rowdy piano and banjo groove before Crimmins’ vocals swings in hot to bring you right up. The light-hearted, good times tone of the song fits the costumed fun of the video and the infectious lyrics are a nice hit to the exuberant trumpet work that eventually erupts into a full-on Dixieland jazz party.
Reflecting on the song and the video, Crimmins says, “Since my wife gave me the song idea it seemed fitting that she play the main character of Doug the bee, a sad bee that needs a little pollen action. Also, I think the gender bending aspect helps make it relatable to people of all genders and sexualities. We were inspired by videos from the 80’s by Cindy Lauper and Huey Lewis. They were always colorful, fun and without pretension. Since we had a bee as the star of the video, it seemed fitting to add a link at the end to The Honey Bee Conservancy so people can learn about bee keeping and some of the current concerns about the bee population. Overall, I hadn’t seen a video with a dancing bee in it since 1992 and it was about time someone did it again!”
WATCH:
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Blair Crimmins & The Hookers release You Gotta Sell Something! on February 17th. For more music and info visit blaircrimminsandthehookers.com.
