Sultans of Swing

Dire Straits, 1978. Solo by Mark Knopfler.

Clean, fingerpicked and fast when everyone else went loud. The outro is a masterclass in playing across the beat without losing the groove.

Knopfler played the song with his fingers on a 1961 Stratocaster, and that fingerstyle attack gives the whole track its crisp, articulate sound at a time when rock guitar was mostly getting louder. The fills between vocal lines, the mid-song solo and the long outro all share the same clean tone; the energy comes from touch rather than distortion. The outro is built on rapid fingerpicked triplets and descending arpeggio patterns, a kind of reverse banjo roll over the D minor progression. It showed that a clean guitar could be just as thrilling as a cranked one. Listen for the rolling triplets near the end, where Knopfler seems to play slightly across the beat while never letting the groove slip.

Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits is ranked #9 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Mark Knopfler and the song was released in 1978. It appears on 47 lists, placing as high as #1 (BLOmiG).

The story of Sultans of Swing

Mark Knopfler wrote the song in 1977 after wandering into a nearly empty pub on a wet night and watching a jazz band plough through a set to almost no one. At the end, the singer thanked the handful of listeners and announced, without any sense of irony, that they had been the Sultans of Swing. The contrast between the grand name and the shabby reality became the heart of the lyric, which sketches the players with affectionate detail.

Knopfler first worked the song out on a National steel guitar in open tuning, and it felt flat to him. Everything changed after he scraped together the money for a 1961 Fender Stratocaster in 1977: he reworked the chords, and he later said the song came alive the moment he played it on that guitar. The result sits in D minor over a descending, Andalusian-style progression.

In July 1977 the band recorded a five-song demo, including this song, at Pathway Studios in north London for about £125. They took it to DJ Charlie Gillett, who played it on his BBC Radio London show Honky Tonk; within a couple of months Dire Straits had a contract with Phonogram. The album version was cut at Basing Street Studios in February 1978 with producer Muff Winwood and engineer Rhett Davies, and the band initially struggled to top the demo.

Released in the UK on Vertigo in May 1978, the single barely registered at first. Once American radio picked it up, Warner Bros. issued it in the US in January 1979, and it climbed to No. 4 there while a UK reissue reached No. 8, pulling the debut album up the charts with it. It became the band's calling card for the rest of their career.

The solo

Mark Knopfler played the song on his 1961 Fender Stratocaster, and his clean, articulate tone owes much to his fingerstyle technique: he played the recording without a pick. The song features fills between vocal lines, a mid-song solo and a longer closing solo. The famous outro is built on rapid fingerpicked triplets and descending arpeggio patterns, which Songfacts describes as a reverse banjo-style roll using his first three fingers, played over the D minor progression. Rather than relying on distortion, the solo gets its energy from crisp attack and quick, rolling phrases. On stage Knopfler improvised freely and stretched the ending, and live versions such as the one on Alchemy run to nearly 11 minutes.

Legacy

The song launched Dire Straits internationally and remains their signature track alongside 'Money for Nothing'. Guitar World ranked its solo the seventh-greatest of all time, Rolling Stone named it the 32nd-greatest guitar song, and it is the band's only entry on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of songs that shaped rock. Its clean, fingerpicked sound stood out sharply against both punk and disco in 1978, and it continues to draw millions of new listeners through streaming.

Top 10 facts about Sultans of Swing

The title came from a pub jazz band whose singer earnestly announced them as the Sultans of Swing to a nearly empty room.
Louder
Knopfler first wrote it on a National steel guitar and said it only came alive on his '61 Stratocaster.
Wikipedia
The July 1977 demo that got the band signed reportedly cost about £125 to record.
Songfacts
DJ Charlie Gillett played the demo on BBC Radio London's Honky Tonk, and a record deal followed within two months.
Wikipedia
The band found it hard to beat the demo at Basing Street and nearly considered releasing the demo instead.
Louder
Knopfler played the recording with his fingers rather than a pick.
Songfacts
The song initially failed to chart in 1978 and only became a hit after its 1979 reissue, eventually outpacing the album's early sales.
Wikipedia
Guitar World ranked the solo the seventh-greatest guitar solo of all time.
Wikipedia
It is Dire Straits' only song on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
Wikipedia
The band's first North American tour began in Boston on 23 February 1979, with 51 sold-out shows in 38 days.
Songfacts

Live versions

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live (1984) Near 11-minute version with a greatly extended, improvised coda.
Live Aid, Wembley Stadium (1985) Epic extended performance, with saxophone, at the London concert.
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, Wembley (1988) Eric Clapton joined the band on rhythm guitar.

Notable covers

Trey Anastasio Phish guitarist's version added a trumpet section.
System of a Down Has played the song in concert.
Andre Antunes (2017) Viral video playing it in the styles of 12 famous guitarists.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #13
The Road Trip 50 — #3
The 25 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos — #7
The 1970s — #7
Solos in Hit Singles — #3
Played on a Stratocaster — #4
Most Agreed-Upon — #9
Critics' Picks — #14
Fans' Picks — #8

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Sultans of Swing?

Mark Knopfler played the solo on Dire Straits's Sultans of Swing (1978).

What guitar was used on the Sultans of Swing solo?

A fender stratocaster through a Fender amp, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Sultans of Swing rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#9 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 47 of them.

Who wrote Sultans of Swing?

Mark Knopfler wrote it alone.

What album is Sultans of Swing on?

Dire Straits' self-titled 1978 debut album.

What guitar did Mark Knopfler use on Sultans of Swing?

A 1961 Fender Stratocaster, played fingerstyle without a pick.

What is Sultans of Swing about?

An unglamorous pub jazz band playing to a near-empty room while calling themselves the Sultans of Swing.

Why does Sultans of Swing sound so clean?

Knopfler plucked with his fingers on a Strat instead of relying on heavy distortion, giving a crisp, bright tone.