Dire Straits’ 'Money for Nothing': How an Angry Rant Became an Iconic 80s Hit

One day Dire Straits Frontman Mark Knopfler was shopping in a retail store and he happened to eavesdrop on two meathead workers ranting about Rockstars and how easy they have it. It was such an interesting conversation that he borrowed a piece of paper and wrote down what they said verbatim. He turned it into one of the biggest hits ever. Yet this frontman got lambasted by critics for using their exact conversation… It was controversial for sure but it was also meant to be satire…Later the song was banned… Earlier a happy accident in the studio created the iconic guitar sound that’s become a part of our culture and then the band had an idea to get Sting to sing on the song. He happened to be in town windsurfing and was able to record an iconic line I Want My MTV that would make it very simple to market especially on MTV. Later Weird Al Yankovic would parody it with Knopfler playing the guitar. It would be the defining track on Dire Straits 1985 masterpiece blockbuster Brothers In Arms. The story is next on Professor of Rock.

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