Sultans of Swing

"Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits from their eponymous debut album, which band frontman Mark Knopfler wrote and composed.
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Sultans Of Swing Lyrics - Dire Straits

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The song was recorded at Pathway Studios , North London, in July and quickly acquired a following after it was put on rotation at Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February at Basing Street Studios for the band's debut album.

The record company wanted a less-polished rock sound for the radio, so an alternative version was recorded at Pathway Studios in April and released as the single in some countries including the United Kingdom and Germany. The music for "Sultans of Swing" was composed by Mark Knopfler on a National Steel guitar in an open tuning , though Knopfler did not think very highly of it at first. As he remembered, "I thought it was dull, but as soon as I bought my first Strat in , the whole thing changed, though the lyrics remained the same.

Inspiration for the song came from witnessing a jazz band playing in the corner of a practically deserted pub in Deptford , South London. At the end of their performance, the lead singer announced that they were the "Sultans of Swing", and Knopfler found the contrast between the group's dowdy appearance and surroundings and their grandiose name amusing.

Folk singer and Columbia recording artist Bill Wilson — made the unsubstantiated claim that he had helped write some of the lyrics to the song while he and Knopfler were both studio musicians working a session in Nashville. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.

It is composed in the key of D minor with Knopfler's vocal range spanning from G 2 to D 4.


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The song employs the Andalusian cadence or diatonic phrygian tetrachord. Knopfler would later use similar triads on " Lady Writer ". Shortly after the band formed in , a musician flatmate of drummer Pick Withers having given the team the name "Dire Straits", they recorded a five-song demo tape at Pathway Studios , which included "Sultans of Swing" in addition to " Water of Love ", " Down to the Waterline ", "Wild West End", and David Knopfler 's "Sacred Loving". The band simply wanted advice, but Gillett liked the music and put "Sultans of Swing" on his rotation.

Sultans Of Swing Lyrics

Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with Phonogram Records. It was produced by Steve Winwood 's brother Muff Winwood. Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone singled out "Sultans of Swing" as a highlight of the album for its "inescapable hook" and compared Knopfler's vocal stylings to that of Bob Dylan.

A Tribute to Mark Knopfler - Sultans Of Swing - Performed by Chelsea and Grace Constable

Writing in on the impact of the song, Rick Moore of American Songwriter reflected:. It was almost like jazz for the layman. Record Mirror ranked the song tenth in its end-of-year countdown of the best songs of the year. The Best Singles".


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The song was originally released in May , but it did not chart at the time. Following its re-issue in January , 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 BBC Radio was initially unwilling to play the song due to its high lyrical content but after it became a U. It was also included on Sultans of Swing: Knopfler has improvised and expanded that solo during live performances.

The coda of the live recording on the album Alchemy stretches the song to nearly 11 minutes. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the Dire Straits song. For the greatest hits album, see Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits.

Sultans of Swing

July original February re-recording. Pathway Studios original Basing Street Studios re-recording. Dire Straits original Muff Winwood re-recording.