When I was 17 and just days away from graduating from high school and heading off to college, my best buddy and I visited a local record store determined to find some good tunes for the long drive we were about to take from Iowa to California.
Nothing at the record store grabbed us at first. But then the store clerk put on a new tune from a brand new band called Dire Straits. It was the group’s debut record in the United States. I had not heard of them. But the songs grabbed both of us immediately.
The song that stood out was “Sultans of Swing,” of course, which just a few weeks later took the popular music world by storm. The rest is rock and roll history. Every Dire Straits album was an event.
Mark Knopfler, who was the band’s singer, guitarist and chief songwriter (he’s now solo) is rightly hailed as one of the most melodic and unique guitarists of all time. His guitar playing is Poignant. Powerful. Perfect.
I especially love his song “Going Home” from the “Local Hero” film soundtrack. The movie, directed by Bill Forsyth, is a subtle, sweet, charming masterpiece, and so is Mark’s song: “Going Home.”
Knopfler had the idea of re-recording the tune and recruiting a bunch of his fellow guitarists to join him, with all the proceeds going to Teen Cancer America and Teenage Cancer Trust, which are founded and supported by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who.
Knopfler decided to re-record the song with a little help from his friends. More than 60 of the world’s guitar masters are playing on this track. It is amazing. It works.
The new version slowly builds to a melodic and powerful crescendo that will blow your mind in a good way and take you back to that charming place in the movie:
The new take is a revelation. A soaring tribute to what simply is the greatest musical instrument of all: The Guitar.
For ten minutes you will be in six-string heaven. And the very best part is that the money goes to such a worthy cause.
America fell in love with the UK when The Beatles, The Who, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Herman’s Hermits and others crossed the Atlantic. The Beatles’ first visit to the Ed Sullivan Show in New York changed the world forever.
This is a tribute to that and so much more from Knopfler to all his fellow six-stringers and their fans.
It is touching to see Knopfler join forces with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and give so much back to their fans, both in the UK and here in the States, where multiple hospitals now have facilities exclusively for teens and young adults.
Buy it. Enjoy it. Share it.
Here’s the full list of the players who contributed to this song. It’s gotta be some kind of record:
Joan Armatrading, Jeff Beck, Richard Bennett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Brown, James Burton, Jonathan Cain, Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jim Cox, Steve Cropper, Sheryl Crow, Danny Cummings, Roger Daltrey, Duane Eddy, Sam Fender, Guy Fletcher, Peter Frampton, Audley Freed, Vince Gill, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Keiji Haino, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett, John Jorgenson, Mark Knopfler, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Greg Leisz, Alex Lifeson, Steve Lukather, Phil Manzanera, Dave Mason, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Robbie McIntosh, John McLaughlin, Tom Morello, Rick Nielsen, Orianthi, Brad Paisley, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford, Joe Satriani, John Sebastian, Connor Selby, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Zak Starkey, Sting, Andy Taylor, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Ian Thomas, Pete Townshend, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Louis Walker, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Glenn Worf, Zucchero…
