Sultans of Swing
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| "Sultans of Swing" | |||||||||
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| Single by Dire Straits | |||||||||
| from the album Dire Straits | |||||||||
| B-side | Eastbound Train (UK) Southbound Again (U.S.) |
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| Released | 1978 | ||||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||||
| Recorded | February 1978 | ||||||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||||||
| Length | 5:48 | ||||||||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. (U.S.) |
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| Writer(s) | Mark Knopfler | ||||||||
| Producer | Dire Straits (demo) Muff Winwood |
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| Dire Straits singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Sultans of Swing" was the first single release of the British rock band Dire Straits.
It was first recorded as a demo at Pathway Studios, North London, 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 and released in both the United Kingdom and the United States, though the demo version remained on the original UK Vertigo single.
[edit] Chart success
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 were unwilling to play the song due to its high lyrical content; after it became a U.S. hit, their line softened.[1] 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.
The original '78-'79 single can be identified by the words "Thank You" which are found in the last verse line 3, between "Goodnight" and "now it's time to go home".
[edit] Critical acclaim
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.[2][3] Lead singer, guitarist and songwriter 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 guitar solo in the coda of the song is based on Indian classical music.
The master track of the song is featured in the video game Guitar Hero 5, as a playable song.
[edit] References
- ^ "Humble guitar hero in Istanbul tonight - Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review". www.hurriyetdailynews.com. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/h.php?news=humble-guitar-hero-in-istanbul-tonight-2008-06-13. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Part 3: Solos Number 21 - 30
- ^ Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time
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