Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Alright, how classic do you want it? When it comes to the sort of primo tunes that veteran rockers Dire Straits have pumped out in their two stints as a band, from 1977 to 1988 and then again from 1990 to 1995, classic almost doesn’t feel like a strong enough word. Factor in the multi-million selling albums, endless time spent on the charts and more awards than any amount of Knopfler’s has had hot dinners and you’ve got yourself some serious rock pedigree. Not like you needed me to tell you that Dire Straits were any good. That’s like singing the praises of medicine, or saying that water is an underrated part of not keeling over dead.

It seems like the formula for success was there from the outset, too – the London-based band barely had the training wheels off before they’d found international acclaim, making top ten waves in literally every single European country and more across the waters as well. While tensions in the band led to various line-up changes, this didn’t seem to slow the juggernaut down whatsoever. Dire Straits were reliable for at least two things; setting records and selling records. And boy, did they do a lot of those.

With all that tongue-bathing out of the way, let’s set you all up for the weekend with something from the band that equals the high praise. From that ultra-distinct guitar sound with riffs that only seem to get better to that inimitably catchy feel, “Sultans of Swing” is a stone-cold gem of a track that fills out our deserved, possibly long overdue Rock Song of the Week pick this time out. We implore you to groove out to your heart’s content with this one, something that should be very easy to manage even through the Friday grind. Unless you work at a classic rock radio station, because chances are you’ll hear this three times today anyway.