Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Shortly after forming in 1977, English rock band Dire Straits headed into the studio to cut out their first demo, which they handed over to DJ Charlie Gillett, the host of BBC Radio London's Honky Tonk. Soon enough, "Sultans of Swing," one of the five songs in the tape, was getting heavy rotation on the radio, something that led to a recording contract with Phonogram Records shortly afterward. The track was then re-recorded for their eponymous studio album and officially released as a single in May 1978 in the UK. Inspired by the name of a jazz band frontman Mark Knopfler had seen in a South London pub, "Sultans of Swing" failed to enter the UK charts upon its release, but finally became a hit after being issued as a single in the United States in 1979. Thanks to Knopfler's idiosyncratic guitar work and his deadpan vocal delivery, the song reached Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 8 on the UK Singles chart, turning its parent album into a commercial success. It has since become one of Dire Straits' signature songs and a staple of classic rock radio.