"Better Class of Losers" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

. It was released in December 1991 as the third single from his album '' High Lonesome''. It peaked at number 2 in both the United States and Canada. Travis co-wrote this song with

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...

. Travis' performance earned him the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, his fifth nomination in that category.

Content

The song is narrated from the point of view of a husband, who married a woman from "high society." Over the course of their relationship, he has grown to dislike both her friends and the high-class lifestyle she leads and has announced his intent to end the relationship. Instead, he intends to associate with people who live a much simpler lifestyle, such as those who "buy their coffee beans already ground" and who don't "pay their bills on home computers" (which, in 1991, was a rarity).

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Shea, and features Travis walking through various sets that convey the song's description, such as a high-rise penthouse set to a farm style set.

Musicians

As listed in liner notes. *

Eddie Bayers Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Russ Barenberg Russ Barenberg (born October 8, 1950) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass musician. Biography Barenberg began playing guitar at age 13, taking lessons from Alan Miller, whose brother, John Miller, Barenberg would later play with. His style ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

*Dennis Burnside -

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

*Doyle Grisham -

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

David Hungate David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American retired bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

- acoustic guitar *

Brent Mason Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American country music guitarist, songwriter and session musician. ''Guitar World'' magazine listed Mason as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". Discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins, Maso ...

6 string bass An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar. Terminology One way that a bass can be considered ''extended-range'' is to use a mechanical detuner, a special machi ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Mu ...

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

John Wesley Ryles John Wesley Ryles (born December 2, 1950) is an American country music artist. Ryles recorded a string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. He no longer records as a headline art ...

- background vocals *

- lead vocals *Dennis Wilson - background vocals *Curtis Young - background vocals

Use in media

This song was performed by Travis in the 2007 movie '' National Treasure: Book of Secrets'', where he guest starred performing for the President of the United States at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. It was also performed, in part, by Travis on a 1993 episode (The Mark) of "Matlock". Travis plays character Billy Wheeler, a country singer hired by Matlock (Andy Griffith) to paint his house, and later accused of killing a con artist.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Better Class Of Losers 1991 songs 1991 singles Music videos directed by Jim Shea Randy Travis songs Songs written by Alan Jackson Songs written by Randy Travis Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Warner Records singles