Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing

Dire Straits were a British rock band from 1977 to 1995. They comprised Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion).

Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest to beat music within the context of rock and roll. Despite the prominence of punk rock during the band's early years, the band's stripped-down sound contrasted with punk, demonstrating a more "rootsy" influence that emerged out of pub rock.

Many of Dire Straits' compositions were melancholy. Dire Straits became one of the world's most commercially successful bands, and sold over 120 million albums worldwide.

Dire Straits won numerous music awards during their career, including three BRIT Awards, four Grammys, and two MTV Video Music Awards. Dire Straits' most popular songs include: "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet", "Tunnel of Love", "Private Investigations", "Money for Nothing", "Walk of Life", "So Far Away" and "Brothers in Arms".

"Sultans of Swing" was their first single release; first released in 1978, its 1979 re-release caused it to become a U.K. and U.S. hit.

The song was first recorded as a demo at Pathway Studios, North London in July 1977, and quickly acquired a following after it was put on rotation at Radio London. It did not take long for its popularity to reach record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records.

The song was then re-recorded in early 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band's debut album Dire Straits. The record company wanted a less-polished rock sound for the radio, so an alternative version was recorded at Pathway Studios in April 1978 and released as the single in some countries including the United Kingdom and Germany.

The song was written by Mark Knopfler whilst in a bar in South London, the inspiration came from a jazz band playing in the corner of an otherwise deserted pub.

The song was originally released in May 1978 but did not chart. Following re-issue in January 1979, the song entered the American music pop chart. Unusually, the success of this single release came more than six months after the relatively unheralded release of the band's debut album in October 1978. BBC Radio was unwilling to play the song due to its high lyrical content; after it became a U.S. hit, their line softened.

The song reached the top 10 in both the UK and the U.S., reaching number 8 on the UK Singles Chart and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped drive sales of the album, which also became a hit.

It was re-issued again as a single in November 1988, a month after it appeared on the band's greatest hits album Money for Nothing. It was also included on Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits and The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations.

The album version of the song featured a critically acclaimed extended guitar solo, reaching #22 on Guitar World's list of the greatest guitar solos and #32 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of greatest guitar songs.

Mark Knopfler improvised and expanded that solo many times during live performances. The coda of the live recording on the 1984 album Alchemy features one of Knopfler's most notable guitar improvisations. Another memorable live version of the song came as an 11-minute epic performance at the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in London when Eric Clapton teamed up with the band to play the song.

The master track of the song is featured in the video game Guitar Hero 5, as a playable song.