Today’s classic song of the day is “Sultans of Swing” by the band Dire Straits. Released in January of 1979 in the U.S. (May of 1978 in the UK), this track hit #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the UK Singles Chart.
“Sultans of Swing” was written by Dire Straits’ frontman and guitarist extraordinaire Mark Knopfler. The lyrics were inspired by a visit Knopfler made to a pub in Ipswitch in Suffolk, where a Dixieland jazz band called the Sultans of Swing were playing before a handful of drunk patrons. Knopfler thought the contrast between the dowdy surroundings and the band’s grandiose name was amusing, and that inspired the song.
Here’s how Knopfler remembers it:
“I think they were actually surprised they had an audience of three or four. I remember asking them to play ‘Creole Love Call’ or ‘Muskrat Ramble.’ I think they were amazed that somebody was in the pub who actually knew a few of the titles. I was just there to have a couple of pints. And at the end of the night… when the guys said ‘Thank you very much, We are the Sultans of Swing,’ there was something really funny about it to me because Sultans, they absolutely weren’t. You know they were rather tired little blokes in pullovers.”
The song itself was a real standout on the radio back then, and still is today. “Sultans of Swing” didn’t sound like the punk and New Wave tunes that were big at the time; the song, like the band it describes, was somewhat jazzy, with lots of room for Knopfler’s dazzling guitar licks.
“Sultans of Swing” launched the careers of the band Dire Straits and its founder Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits went on to have a number of big hits, including “Lady Writer,” “So Far Away,” “Walk of Life,” and the #1 MTV-era hit, “Money for Nothing.” They released a total of just six albums, all of them peaking in the top twenty, with 1985;s Brothers in Arms being a #1 smash in the U.S., UK, and worldwide.
Mark Knopfler disbanded the band in 1992 and continued as a solo artist. In addition to releasing nine albums and constantly touring, he also wrote the soundtracks for The Princess Bride, Local Hero, and other films. My wife and I caught him in concert a few years back and it was a terrific evening full of amazing guitar work and memorable songs from both his solo and Dire Straits periods.
And here’s a little capper to the “Sultans of Swing” story. The late Bill Wilson, an Indiana singer-songwriter who had a big local following in the 1970s and 1980s, claimed to have co-written “Sultans of Swing” with Mark Knopfler. He said his producer hooked him up with Knopfler when the Brit was visiting the States and told this story:
“[Knopfler] has his own group over there called Dire Straits. He had this little melody. It sounded like ‘Walk, Don’t Run.’ And he had this little story concerning a band that nobody wanted to listen to. Only a few people show up to hear. So we got together one night after the session and tossed these lyrics around on a napkin and I guess I wound up writing most of the lyrics to the tune. Made enough money to buy a new Blazer that year I remember, so… didn’t do too bad.”
The problem with Wilson’s story is that Mark Knopfler didn’t visit the United States until after “Sultans of Swing” was released and there’s no evidence that the two musicians’ paths ever crossed even then. It may simply be that Wilson, a storied storyteller both in song and on stage, was simply spinning a tale between tunes at a gig. That wouldn’t be the first story he told, all of them entertaining.
On a personal note, I saw Wilson in local clubs quite often back in the day and really enjoyed his songs and his performances, especially his local hit “Stardust Train.” Bill Wilson was a very talented songwriter who left us much too soon; he passed away on Thanksgiving Day 1993 of a heart attack, just 46 years of age.
