Although the song “Sultans of Swing” might have introduced the world to Mark Knopfler’s band Dire Straits in the late 1970s, it was a cynical little song about music videos that took the world by storm in 1985 and recorded their album “Brothers in. Arms “. in the music sales stratosphere. The song was called “Money for Nothing”.
In a 1985 interview for Musician Magazine, Knopfler explains the genesis of the tune: “The main character … is a guy who works in the hardware department at a TV / custom kitchen / refrigerator / microwave store. He’s singing the song. song. I wrote the song when I was at the store. I borrowed a piece of paper and started writing the song at the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy used when I heard it, because it was more real. ” The phrase “money for nothing, and your girls for free” eventually became part of 1980s pop culture history.
Sting, who takes credit for writing the song, was only responsible for the “I want my MTV” line in the song, which was sung a bit to the tune of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” Sting was in Montserrat during the recording of the song, and that’s why he appeared. He also joined Dire Straits on the London stage during Live Aid in July 1985, and the live performance of the song is widely recognized for the song’s huge worldwide success several months later and the multi-platinum international sales of “Brothers in. Arms “CD.
Another possible reason for the song’s success was the adoption of the groundbreaking video (one of the first to use computer animation) in “heavy rotation” status on MTV in the US It later became the first ever played music video. on MTV Europe in 1987.
Though found by some to be offensive in the language used, and later edited for on-air playback, Knopfler insisted that the song was written and sung with character, and in no way reflected his personal feelings. In an interview with Rolling Stone from 1985, Knopfler said: “I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London, actually he said it was below the belt. Aside from the fact that there are stupid homosexuals and stupid. Maybe you can’t let it have that many meanings; you have to be direct. In fact, I’m still not sure if it’s a good idea to write songs that aren’t in the first person, to take on other characters. ” It was a bit of a controversy and it didn’t take away from the astonishing popularity of the song. It hit # 1 on the Billboard charts in September 1985 and won awards for Knopfler and the band at the Grammy Awards, the British Awards, and the MTV Music Awards.
Trivia “Money for nothing”:
– Knopfler supposedly adapted his line “with the earring and the tutu”, when Jack Sonni, his rhythm guitarist at the time, suggested replacing the word makeup with tutu.
– Terry Williams, drummer for Dire Straits, is not the only drummer recorded on this particular track. Famous session musician Omar Hakim, who has performed with Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Weather Report and many others, also provided some of the percussion work.
– In a Mix Magazine article, engineer Neil Dorfsman recalls that Knopfler’s now famous guitar riff was achieved using a “Les Paul Junior through a Kelly amp with two Shure SM57 mics, one close and the other” on that strange place, like seven inches back and pointing to the side. ‘”
– In 1989, “Weird Al” Yankovic recorded his own version of the song mixing Knopfler’s music with the lyrics of the theme song from the television show Beverly Hillbillies. Knopfler allowed parody as long as he could perform the guitar solos, which he did. The video can be seen in the feature film UHF.