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Song of the Day #6,372: ‘The Man’s Too Strong’ – Dire Straits

I’ve wrapped up my brief deep dive into Dire Straits six-album discography, and my biggest takeaway is that this is one of the most consistent artists I’ve given the treatment.

Granted, I’m sure they’d have some soft spots if they had put out a dozen or more albums, but I do think there is something about the band’s sound that just works. It’s the tone of Mark Knopfler’s guitar, the comforting rasp of his voice, the expansive but welcoming soundscapes of his production. And while Knopfler is the primary creative force behind Dire Straits, I also must shout out the expert musicianship of his various bandmates.

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Song of the Day #6,371: ‘Ticket to Heaven’ – Dire Straits

Three years after the release of the blockbuster Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits broke up. Mark Knopfler was overwhelmed by the pressure and attention that accompanied success.

He focused instead on solo projects, and formed a country band called the Notting Hillbillies, releasing one album with that outfit in 1990. That same year, Dire Straits reunited for a festival performance then decided to head to the studio to record another album.

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Song of the Day #6,370: ‘Over and Over’ – The Dave Clark Five

Throwing back to the week of December 14, 1965, we find The Byrds holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ At #2, a week before ascending to #1, were English rockers The Dave Clark Five with ‘Over and Over.’

This song was written and first recorded by Robert James Byrd, known professionally as Bobby Day, in 1958. The song reached #41 for Day as the B-side to his #2 hit ‘Rockin’ Robin.’

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Song of the Day #6,369: ‘Love and Marriage’ – Frank Sinatra

There wasn’t a lot of movement atop the Billboard chart in the waning weeks of 1955. The top six songs the week of December 13, 1955, were all repeats.

At #7 that week was a track by Frank Sinatra that had been kicking around the top ten for a few weeks: ‘Love and Marriage.’ Written by Jimmy Van Heusen, the song was performed by Sinatra in a televised musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, in which Sinatra starred alongside Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint.

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Song of the Day #6,368: ‘Why Worry’ – Dire Straits

Dire Straits waited three years after 1982’s Love Over Gold to release their next album, dropping an EP and live album in the meantime. Then, in 1985, came Brothers in Arms.

This nine-song collection is a perfect synthesis of the band’s pop sensibility and artistic proclivities, boasting both radio-friendly hits and jazzy art pop. Brothers in Arms is one of the first albums recorded digitally and the first smash hit of the CD era (it sold more than a million copies on CD, topping its vinyl and cassette sales).

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