Mark Knopfler: Distinguished Songwriter and Guitarist Expert Musician, Electrified Innovator

Mark Knopfler, best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the legendary rock group Dire Straits was born August 12, 1949 in Glasgow Scotland. He has made a number of albums as a solo performer and has been the guitarist in other bands. He has also done skillful studio work with artists such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Chet Atkins and has produced top-selling artists for musicians including Tina Turner and Randy Newman. He also is responsible for the impressive film scores to quite a few films: Local Hero; The Princess Bride; Cal; Last Exit to Brooklyn; and Wag the Dog. His work throughout the years has been both consistent and varied in style, and his abilities on guitar are among the best and most unique in the world of rock, influencing musicians across genres.

Mark Knopfler's father was a Jewish architect supportive of communism, forced to leave his native Hungary for Scotland, where Knopfler was born. When he was nine years-old, his family moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne in Northern England where he attended Gosforth Grammar School and was particularly moved by his uncle Kingsley's boogie-woogie-style musical performances on the harmonica and piano. His love of music lasted throughout his childhood, and he finally decided to learn to play the guitar in his teens. Hoping for an expensive Fender Strat, he had to instead purchase what he could afford - a cheap twin pick-up Hofner Super Solid. Like so many other young boys of his generation, he started and joined many short-lived bands and spent his time emulating the guitar playing of 1960's legends like Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton. At age sixteen, his musical abilities landed him on a local TV station singing a duet with a female friend from school.

Knopfler had a way with words from the start, and in 1967 decided to study journalism in a year-long study program at Harlow Technical College. Excelling in the class, he garnered a job in Leeds as a junior reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post immediately upon finishing, but was dissatisfied and felt inspired to go back to school to earn a degree two years later. He began to study English at Leeds University, and worked as a lecturer at Loughton College. During this period, his love of music increased as he began to get more involved in writing and particularly song-writing, and he met a local blues musician named Steve Phillips. He worked with Phillips to record his first album in London, comprised of an original song entitled "Summer's Coming My Way."

While in London, Knopfler became infatuated with the music scene there, and decided to pull together a group. This group Dire Straits began in 1977 and released their first record Dire Straits. At first, the album received little notice, but five months later, the single "Sultans of Swing" unexpectedly topped the charts and the album began to sell. With a flair for songwriting and a natural talent for both the technical and musical aspects of lead guitar, Knopfler became a permanent fixture in rock music and became the obviously driving force behind Dire Straits to the point where the band became synonymous with his name, and the transient personnel did not matter with him at the helm.

Dire Strait's second album, Communique came quickly afterwards thanks to Knopfler's quick songwriting abilities and offered songs similar to those on the first album. During this time, Knopfler began to work on more expansive, instrumental scores for movies, beginning with Local Hero in 1983. Making Movies, the band's third release displayed Knopfler's desire to transform his musical style, and featured songs with complicated arrangements and production that helped transition the band towards a solid, new style seen in its full glory on Love Over Gold, the next album. It was the band's 1985 recording Brothers in Arms that received international acclaim and saw many hit singles, including the song that accompanied the first video to be played on MTV in Great Britain, "Money for Nothing." Knopfler's work on The Princess Bride film score during the mid-1980's received critical acclaim and proved his versatility and ability to write meaningful music, and not just meaningful lyrics, in virtually any genre. During the 1980's, he also was responsible for writing and producing one of the songs that transformed soul singer Tina Turner's career into one firmly planted in pop music, "Private Dancer."

Dire Straits took a break for nearly six years to rework songs and try to reinvent the band; Knopfler felt the band's chemistry was waning, and as more time passed, felt pressure to write songs that would top the successful group on Brothers in Arms. On Every Street, the band's final studio album appeared in 1991 and received very mixed reviews, seen by many as a disappointing follow-up to previous albums. After releasing several live albums and embarking on one more tour, Knopfler ended Dire Straits softly in 1995 and began a distinguished solo career.

In 1996, Knopfler completed his first solo album, Golden Heart, just months before Brothers in Arms achieved nine time platinum status. Critics loved his first solo release, and for the first time truly recognized his songwriting and playing abilities. In 1997, Rolling Stone magazine named the Knopfler's song "Sultans of Swing" one of "Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll," establishing him as a permanent part of rock history. 1998 saw Knopfler recording a soundtrack for Wag the Dog and re-releasing a "Greatest Hits" collection to commemorate 20 years since the formation of Dire Straits. The early 2000's saw him working on more solo material and once again displaying his ability to work in many different musical styles, producing an album of folk music with many of the greatest musicians in the genre, including James Taylor and Glen Tilbrook of Squeeze.

Continue >>