Mark Knopfler
Encyclopedia
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE
(born 12 August 1949) is a Scottish-born British guitarist
, singer, songwriter
, record producer
and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits
, which he co-founded in 1977. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler went on to record and produce six solo albums, including Golden Heart
(1996), Sailing to Philadelphia
(2000), and Get Lucky
(2009). He has composed and produced film scores for eight films, including Local Hero
(1983), Cal (1984), and The Princess Bride
(1987). In addition to his work with Dire Straits and as a solo artist and composer, Knopfler has recorded and performed with many prominant musical artists, including Chet Atkins
, The Chieftains
, Eric Clapton
, Bob Dylan
, Emmylou Harris
, Jools Holland
, Sonny Landreth
, and Van Morrison
. He has produced albums for such artists as Tina Turner
, Bob Dylan
, and Randy Newman
.
Knopfler is one of the most respected fingerstyle
guitarists of the modern rock era, and was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Knopfler is the recipient of the Edison Award and the Steiger Award
, and holds three honorary doctorate
degrees in music from universities in the United Kingdom
.
mother and Hungarian
Jewish father—an architect
whose anti-fascist sympathies forced him to flee from his native Hungary. The family settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Blyth, Northumberland
in North East England
when he was 7 years old. He and his younger brother David
attended Gosforth Grammar School. Inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica
and boogie-woogie
piano playing, he wanted to buy an expensive Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster
just like Hank Marvin
's, but had to settle for a £50 twin-pick-up Höfner
Super Solid. During the 1960s, he formed and joined schoolboy bands and listened to singers like Elvis Presley
and guitarists Chet Atkins
, Scotty Moore
, B.B King, Django Reinhardt
, Hank Marvin
, and James Burton
. At 16, he made a local TV appearance as part of a harmony duo, with his classmate Sue Hercombe.
In 1968, after studying journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College, Knopfler was hired as a junior reporter in Leeds
for the Yorkshire Evening Post
. Two years later, he decided to further his studies, and went on to graduate with a degree in English at the University of Leeds
. In April 1970, while living in Leeds, Knopfler recorded a demo disk of an original song he'd written, "Summer's Coming My Way". The recording included Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), Steve Phillips (second guitar), Dave Johnson (bass), and Paul Granger (percussion). Johnson, Granger, and vocalist Mick Dewhirst played with Mark in the band Silverheels.
Upon graduation in 1973, Knopfler moved to London and joined a High Wycombe
-based band called Brewers Droop, appearing on the album The Booze Brothers
. One night while spending some time with friends, the only guitar available was an old acoustic with a badly warped neck that had been strung with extra-light strings to make it playable. Even so, he found it impossible to play unless he finger-picked it. He said in a later interview, "That was where I found my 'voice' on guitar." After a brief stint with Brewers Droop, Knopfler took a job as a lecturer at Loughton College in Essex—a position he held for three years. Throughout this time, he continued performing with local pub bands, including the Café Racers. He also formed a duo with long-time associate bluesman Steve Phillips
called The Duolian String Pickers.
By the mid-1970s, Knopfler devoted much of his musical energies to his group, the Café Racers. His brother David
moved to London, where he shared a flat with John Illsley—a guitarist who changed over to bass guitar. In April 1977, Mark gave up his flat in Buckhurst Hill and moved in with David and John. The three began playing music together, and soon Mark invited John to join the Café Racers.
as drummer, David Knopfler as rhythm guitarist and John Illsley
on bass guitar. On 27 July 1977 they recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs: "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing
", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song) and "Water of Love". In what was probably October they recorded "Southbound Again", "In The Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London and, finally, on 9 November demo tapes were made of "Setting Me Up
", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits
which was released in the following year: "Down To The Waterline" recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In The Gallery" is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, (father of Steve Phillips
); and "Lions", "Wild West End" and "Eastbound Train" were all drawn from Mark's early days in the capital.
Initially on its release, Dire Straits
received little fanfare in the UK, but when "Sultans of Swing" was released as a single it became a chart hit in The Netherlands and album sales took off across Europe and then in the United States and Canada, and finally the UK. The group's second album, Communiqué, produced by Jerry Wexler
and Barry Beckett
, followed in 1979, reaching number one in France while the first album was still at number three.
There were frequent personnel changes within Dire Straits after the release of their third album Making Movies
, with Mark Knopfler increasingly becoming the driving force behind the group. Released in 1980, Making Movies marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which continued for the remainder of the group's career. The album included many of Mark Knopfler's most personal compositions, most notably "Romeo and Juliet" and "Tunnel of Love". Love over Gold
followed in 1982 and included the UK #2 hit "Private Investigations
", "Telegraph Road
", "Industrial Disease
" and "It Never Rains" as well as the title track to that album.
With Love Over Gold still in the albums charts, the band released a four-song EP
titled ExtendedancEPlay
in early 1983. Featuring the hit single "Twisting By the Pool", this was the first output by the band that featured new drummer Terry Williams
, (formerly of Rockpile
), who had replaced Pick Withers in November 1982. A world tour followed later in 1983, and in March 1984 the double album Alchemy Live
was released. Alchemy Live documented the recordings of two live shows in Hammersmith Odeon in London in July 1983, and reached number three in the UK Albums Chart
.
During 1983 and 1984 Knopfler was involved with other projects as well, including writing and producing the music score to the film Local Hero
which was a large success, and it was followed in 1984 by his scores for the films Cal
and Comfort and Joy. Also during this time Knopfler produced Bob Dylan
's Infidels
album, as well as Aztec Camera
and Willy DeVille
; he also wrote Private Dancer
for Tina Turner
's comeback album of the same name
.
Dire Straits' biggest studio album by far was their fifth, Brothers in Arms
, recorded at Air Studios Montserrat
and released in May 1985. It became an international blockbuster which has now sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and is the fourth best selling album in UK chart history. Brothers In Arms spawned several chart singles including the US # 1 hit "Money for Nothing
", which was the first video ever to be played on MTV in Britain. It was also the first compact disc to sell a million copies and is largely credited for launching the CD format as it was also one of the first DDD CDs ever released. Other successful singles were "So Far Away
", "Walk of Life
", and the album's title track
. The band's 1985–86 world tour of over 230 shows was immensely successful.
After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating mainly on film soundtracks. Knopfler joined the charity ensemble Ferry Aid
on "Let It Be" in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987. Knopfler wrote the music score for the film The Princess Bride
which was released at the end of 1987.
Mark Knopfler also took part in a comedy skit (featured on the French and Saunders
Show) titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron
and fellow British musicians David Gilmour
, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King
from Level 42, and Gary Moore
. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
Dire Straits regrouped for the 11 June 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act, and were accompanied by Elton John
and Eric Clapton
, who by this time had developed a strong friendship with Knopfler. Shortly after this, drummer Terry Williams left the band. In September 1988 Mark Knopfler announced the official dissolution of Dire Straits, saying that he "needed a rest", and in October 1988, a "best of" album, Money for Nothing
, was released and reached number one in the United Kingdom.
In 1989 Knopfler formed The Notting Hillbillies
, a band at the other end of the commercial spectrum. It leaned heavily towards American roots music - folk
, blues and country music
. The band members included keyboardist Guy Fletcher
, with Brendan Croker
and Steve Phillips
. For both the album and the tour Paul Franklin
was added to the line-up on pedal steel. The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
was released in 1990, and Knopfler then toured with the Notting Hillbillies for the remainder of that year. He further emphasised his country music influences with his 1990s collaboration with Chet Atkins
, Neck and Neck
. The Hillbillies toured the UK in early 1990 with a limited number of shows, it was strictly low key, packing out smaller venues, such as Newcastle University.
In 1990 Knopfler, John Illsley, and Alan Clark performed as Dire Straits at the Knebworth gig, joined by Eric Clapton, Ray Cooper
, and guitarist Phil Palmer
(who was at that time part of Eric Clapton's touring band), and in January the following year, Knopfler, John Illsley and manager Ed Bicknell
decided to reform Dire Straits. Knopfler, Illsley, Alan Clark, and Guy Fletcher set about recording what turned out to be their final studio album accompanied by several part-time sidemen
, including Phil Palmer, Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings
and Toto
drummer Jeff Porcaro
.
The follow-up to Brothers In Arms was finally released in September 1991. On Every Street
was nowhere near as popular as its predecessor, and met with a mixed critical reaction, with some reviewers regarding the album as an underwhelming comeback after a six year break. Nonetheless, the album sold well and reached #1 in the UK. A gruelling world tour to accompany the album followed, which lasted until the end of 1992. This was to be Dire Straits' final world tour; it was not as well received as the previous Brothers In Arms tour, and by this time Mark Knopfler had had enough of such massive operations. This drove the band into the ground, and ultimately led to the group's final dissolution in 1995.
Following the tour, Knopfler took some time off from the music business. In 1993, he received an honorary music doctorate from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Two more Dire Straits albums were released, both live albums. On the Night
, released in May 1993, documented Dire Straits' final world tour. In 1995, following the release of Live at the BBC
, Mark Knopfler quietly dissolved Dire Straits and launched his career as a solo artist.
Since the break-up of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has shown no interest in reforming the group. However, keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material to date, while Danny Cummings has also frequently contributed, including on Knopfler's last three solo album releases All the Roadrunning
(with Emmylou Harris
), Kill to Get Crimson
and Get Lucky
. In October 2008 Knopfler declined a suggestion by John Illsley that they should reform. Illsley said that a reunion would be "entirely up to Mark", however he also suggested that Knopfler is enjoying his continued success as a solo artist, saying that "He's doing incredibly well as a solo artist, so hats off to him. He's having a perfectly good time doing what he's doing". Knopfler meanwhile is quoted as saying "Oh, I don't know whether to start getting all that stuff back together again", and that the global fame that came his way in the 1980s "just got too big".
Mark Knopfler's first solo album, Golden Heart
, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty
", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.
Also in 1996, Mark Knopfler recorded guitar for Ted Christopher's Dunblane massacre
tribute cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing
", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia
. This has been his most successful to date, possibly helped by the number of collaborators to the album like Van Morrison.
In 2002 Mark Knopfler gave four charity concerts with former Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White
, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher, playing old material from the Dire Straits years. The concerts also featured The Notting Hillbillies with Brendan Croker and Steve Phillips. At these four concerts (three of the four were at the Shepherd's Bush, the fourth at Beaulieu
on the south coast) they were joined by Jimmy Nail
, who provided backing vocals for Knopfler's 2002 composition "Why Aye Man".
Also in 2002 Knopfler released his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream
. However, in March 2003 he was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosvenor Road, Belgravia and suffered a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade and seven broken ribs. The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but Knopfler recovered and was able to return to the stage in 2004 for his fourth album, Shangri-La.
Shangri-La was recorded at the Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California in 2004, where The Band
made recordings years before for their documentary/movie, The Last Waltz
. In the promo for "Shangri-La" on his official website he said that his current line-up of Glenn Worf
(bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Chad Cromwell
(drums), Richard Bennett
(guitar) and Matt Rollings
(piano) "play Dire Straits songs better than Dire Straits did." The "Shangri-La" tour took Mark to countries like India and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. In India, his concerts at Mumbai and Bangalore were very well received, with over 20,000 fans gathering at each concert to listen to a legend many thought would never visit their country.
In November 2005 a compilation, The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
was released, consisting of material from most of Dire Straits' studio albums and Mark Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. The album was made available in two editions: a single CD (with a grey cover) and also as double CD (with the cover in blue), and was well-received. The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All the Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris
, which was followed in 2006 by an album of duets of the same name.
Released in April 2006, All the Roadrunning
reached #1 in Denmark and Switzerland, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #3 in Germany, Holland and Italy, #8 in Austria and UK, #9 in Spain, #17 in the United States (Billboard Top 200 Chart), #25 in Ireland and #41 in Australia. All the Roadrunning was nominated for "Best Folk Rock/Americana Album" at the 49th Grammy Awards (11 February 2007) but lost out to Bob Dylan's nomination for Modern Times
.
Joined by Emmylou Harris, Knopfler supported All the Roadrunning with a limited – 15 gigs in Europe, 1 in Canada and 8 in the USA – but highly successful tour of Europe and N America. Selections from the duo's 28 June performance at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California, were released as a DVD entitled Real Live Roadrunning
on 14 November 2006. In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, Real Live Roadrunning features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as three tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.
A charity event in 2007 went wrong. A Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Knopfler, Clapton, Brian May
, and Jimmy Page
was to be auctioned for £20,000 to raise the money for a children's hospice, was lost when being shipped. It "vanished after being posted from London to Leicestershire, England". Parcelforce
, the company responsible, has agreed to pay US$30,000 for its loss.
Knopfler released his fifth solo studio-album Kill to Get Crimson
on 14 September 2007 in Germany, 17 September in the UK and 18 September in the United States. During the autumn of 2007 he played a series of intimate 'showcases' in various European cities to promote the album. A tour of Europe and North America followed in 2008. Many older songs from the early solo days, such as Cannibals (from Golden Heart
), were brought back to life. Cannibals opened up shows throughout Europe. Cannibals was received extremely well particularly in Ireland as it was released by an Irish Country Artist David Maguire in 2007. The new version of Cannibals that David Maguire and his Band released was the 7th most requested song on Irish radio that year.
Continuing a pattern of high productivity through his solo career, Knopfler began work on his next studio album, entitled Get Lucky
, in September 2008 with long-time band mate Guy Fletcher, who again compiled a pictorial diary of the making of the album on his website. The album was released on September 14 the following year and Knopfler subsequently undertook an extensive tour across Europe and America. The album met with moderate success on the charts (much of it in Europe) reaching #1 only in Norway but peaking in the Top 5 in most major European countries (Germany, Italy, Holland). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard European Album chart and at #5 on the Billboard Rock Album chart.
Knopfler's solo live performances can be characterized as relaxed—almost workmanlike. He uses very little stage production, other than some lighting effects to enhance the music's dynamics. He has been known to sip tea
on stage during live performances. Richard Bennett
, who has been playing with him on tour since 1996, has also joined in drinking tea with him on stage. On 31 July 2005, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
in Vancouver, BC, the tea was replaced with whiskey as a "last show of tour" sort of joke.
In February 2009, Knopfler gave an intimate solo concert at the Garrick Club
in London. Knopfler had recently become a member of the exclusive gentlemen's club
for men of letters.
In 2010, Knopfler appeared on the newest Thomas Dolby
release, the EP Amerikana. Knopfler performed on the track "17 Hills".
In February 2011, Knopfler began work on his next solo album, once again working with Guy Fletcher. A release date is yet to be announced. In July 2011, it was announced that Knopfler would take time out from recording this album in order to take part in a European tour with Bob Dylan during October and November.
. In 1988 he formed country-focused band The Notting Hillbillies
, with Guy Fletcher
, Brendan Croker
and Steve Phillips
. The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
was released in 1990 and featured the minor hit single "Your Own Sweet Way". Knopfler further emphasised his country music influences with his collaboration with Chet Atkins
, Neck and Neck
, which was also released in 1990. "Poor Boy Blues", taken from that collaboration, peaked at #92.
Knopfler's other contributions include writing and playing guitar on John Anderson
's 1992 single "When It Comes to You" (from his album Seminole Wind
). In 1993 Mary Chapin Carpenter
also released a cover of the Dire Straits song "The Bug
". Randy Travis
released another of Knopfler's songs, "Are We In Trouble Now", in 1996. In that same year, Knopfler's solo single "Darling Pretty" reached a peak of #87.
Knopfler collaborated with George Jones
on the 1994 "The Bradley Barn Sessions" album performing guitar duties on the classic J.P. Richardson composition White Lightnin'
.
Knopfler is featured on Kris Kristofferson
's album "The Austin Sessions", (on the track "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends") released in 1999 by Atlantic Records.
In 2006 Knopfler and Emmylou Harris
made a country album together titled All the Roadrunning
. Knopfler also charted two singles on the Canadian country music singles chart.
Again in 2006, Knopfler contributed the song "Whoop De Doo" to Jimmy Buffett
's "Gulf and Western" style album "Take the Weather with You
".
1997, Knopfler married his third and current wife, British actress and writer Kitty Aldridge
on the Caribbean island of Barbados
. They had been dating for three years. Their marriage so far has produced two daughters, Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003). The family currently lives in Chelsea
.
style) instead of using a plectrum
(i.e., "pick
"). Fingerpicking is usually associated with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an electric guitar
. He revealed during a French interview that he uses a pick for his rhythm work during recording sessions. He surprised the interviewer by pulling a pick
out of his pocket and saying that he usually carries one. He has long favoured Fender Telecaster
and Stratocaster
style guitars. Fender carries a Mark Knopfler Artist Series Stratocaster. During the 1980s he came to appreciate the tone of the Gibson Les Paul
and his original 1958 has been used regularly in the studio and on stage.
On the "Get Lucky" tour in 2010, Knopfler is using a pair of custom built Reinhardt guitar amp heads with matching cabinets, and a Tone King combo in between that is used on some songs.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 12 August 1949) is a Scottish-born British guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, which he co-founded in 1977. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler went on to record and produce six solo albums, including Golden Heart
Golden Heart
Golden Heart is the debut solo album by Mark Knopfler, following a successful career leading the British rock band Dire Straits and composing a string of critically acclaimed film soundtrack albums. The album was released on 26 March 1996...
(1996), Sailing to Philadelphia
Sailing to Philadelphia
Sailing to Philadelphia is the second solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 26 September 2000. The title track is drawn from Thomas Pynchon's novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, the two English surveyors who established the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Delaware and...
(2000), and Get Lucky
Get Lucky (Mark Knopfler album)
Get Lucky is the sixth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 15 September in the United States in three configurations...
(2009). He has composed and produced film scores for eight films, including Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
(1983), Cal (1984), and The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
(1987). In addition to his work with Dire Straits and as a solo artist and composer, Knopfler has recorded and performed with many prominant musical artists, including Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
, Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, but soon after, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Lafayette, Louisiana...
, and Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
. He has produced albums for such artists as Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
.
Knopfler is one of the most respected fingerstyle
Fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking ....
guitarists of the modern rock era, and was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Knopfler is the recipient of the Edison Award and the Steiger Award
Steiger Award
The Steiger Award or Der Steiger is an international award established in 2005 and presented annually by the award organization based in Bochum, Germany. The title translates as The Miner, and reflects the qualities of responsibility, honesty, openness and hard work valued in the North Rhine...
, and holds three honorary doctorate
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
degrees in music from universities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Early life (1949–1976)
Mark Freuder Knopfler was born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland, to an EnglishEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
mother and Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Jewish father—an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
whose anti-fascist sympathies forced him to flee from his native Hungary. The family settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...
in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
when he was 7 years old. He and his younger brother David
David Knopfler
David Knopfler is a British singer-songwriter, rhythm guitarist, pianist and cofounder of the critically acclaimed rock band Dire Straits....
attended Gosforth Grammar School. Inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
piano playing, he wanted to buy an expensive Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
just like Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard...
's, but had to settle for a £50 twin-pick-up Höfner
Höfner
Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments....
Super Solid. During the 1960s, he formed and joined schoolboy bands and listened to singers like Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and guitarists Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Scotty Moore
Scotty Moore
Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
, B.B King, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard...
, and James Burton
James Burton
James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
. At 16, he made a local TV appearance as part of a harmony duo, with his classmate Sue Hercombe.
In 1968, after studying journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College, Knopfler was hired as a junior reporter in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
for the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. Two years later, he decided to further his studies, and went on to graduate with a degree in English at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. In April 1970, while living in Leeds, Knopfler recorded a demo disk of an original song he'd written, "Summer's Coming My Way". The recording included Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), Steve Phillips (second guitar), Dave Johnson (bass), and Paul Granger (percussion). Johnson, Granger, and vocalist Mick Dewhirst played with Mark in the band Silverheels.
Upon graduation in 1973, Knopfler moved to London and joined a High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
-based band called Brewers Droop, appearing on the album The Booze Brothers
The Booze Brothers
The Booze Brothers, featuring Mark Knopfler & Dave Edmunds, is the second album released by Brewers Droop, an English blues band. Although most of the tracks were recorded back in 1973 the album was only released in 1989 when it was discovered that the album had involved the renowned...
. One night while spending some time with friends, the only guitar available was an old acoustic with a badly warped neck that had been strung with extra-light strings to make it playable. Even so, he found it impossible to play unless he finger-picked it. He said in a later interview, "That was where I found my 'voice' on guitar." After a brief stint with Brewers Droop, Knopfler took a job as a lecturer at Loughton College in Essex—a position he held for three years. Throughout this time, he continued performing with local pub bands, including the Café Racers. He also formed a duo with long-time associate bluesman Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips (musician)
Steve Phillips is an English blues and country musician. He is mainly renowned for being part of supergroup Notting Hillbillies along with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Brendan Croker.-Biography:...
called The Duolian String Pickers.
By the mid-1970s, Knopfler devoted much of his musical energies to his group, the Café Racers. His brother David
David Knopfler
David Knopfler is a British singer-songwriter, rhythm guitarist, pianist and cofounder of the critically acclaimed rock band Dire Straits....
moved to London, where he shared a flat with John Illsley—a guitarist who changed over to bass guitar. In April 1977, Mark gave up his flat in Buckhurst Hill and moved in with David and John. The three began playing music together, and soon Mark invited John to join the Café Racers.
Dire Straits (1977–1995)
Dire Straits' first demos were done in three sessions during 1977, with Pick WithersPick Withers
David "Pick" Withers was the original drummer for the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations."...
as drummer, David Knopfler as rhythm guitarist and John Illsley
John Illsley
John Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed rock band, Dire Straits...
on bass guitar. On 27 July 1977 they recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs: "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing
Sultans of Swing
"Sultans of Swing" was the first single release of the British rock band Dire Straits. First released in 1978, its 1979 re-release caused it to become a hit in both the UK and USA....
", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song) and "Water of Love". In what was probably October they recorded "Southbound Again", "In The Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London and, finally, on 9 November demo tapes were made of "Setting Me Up
Setting Me Up
"Setting Me Up" is a song written by Mark Knopfler. It was originally recorded by British rock group Dire Straits on their self-titled debut album but not released as a single. Ken Tucker in Rolling Stone described the song as a "heavenly number" combining humor with bitterness, despite having a...
", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits
Dire Straits (album)
Dire Straits is the self-titled debut album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in October 1978 by Phonogram Records.-History:...
which was released in the following year: "Down To The Waterline" recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In The Gallery" is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, (father of Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips (musician)
Steve Phillips is an English blues and country musician. He is mainly renowned for being part of supergroup Notting Hillbillies along with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Brendan Croker.-Biography:...
); and "Lions", "Wild West End" and "Eastbound Train" were all drawn from Mark's early days in the capital.
Initially on its release, Dire Straits
Dire Straits (album)
Dire Straits is the self-titled debut album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in October 1978 by Phonogram Records.-History:...
received little fanfare in the UK, but when "Sultans of Swing" was released as a single it became a chart hit in The Netherlands and album sales took off across Europe and then in the United States and Canada, and finally the UK. The group's second album, Communiqué, produced by Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
and Barry Beckett
Barry Beckett
Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
, followed in 1979, reaching number one in France while the first album was still at number three.
There were frequent personnel changes within Dire Straits after the release of their third album Making Movies
Making Movies
Making Movies is the third album by English rock band Dire Straits, released in 1980.- History :The title of the album comes from a line in the song "Skateaway" and the unreleased song "Making Movies". Rolling Stone ranked the album #52 in their survey of the "100 Best Albums of the 80s"...
, with Mark Knopfler increasingly becoming the driving force behind the group. Released in 1980, Making Movies marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which continued for the remainder of the group's career. The album included many of Mark Knopfler's most personal compositions, most notably "Romeo and Juliet" and "Tunnel of Love". Love over Gold
Love over Gold
Love Over Gold is the fourth album by British rock band Dire Straits.- History :Due to its lengthy atmospheric instrumental passages, the album has been cited as the band's attempt at progressive rock....
followed in 1982 and included the UK #2 hit "Private Investigations
Private Investigations
"Private Investigations" is a popular song by Dire Straits from their album Love Over Gold. Although it was not released as a single in the US, it reached the number 2 position in the UK , and is one of their biggest chart successes in the United Kingdom, on a par with "Walk of Life"...
", "Telegraph Road
Telegraph Road (song)
"Telegraph Road" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits and written by Mark Knopfler. It appeared on their 1982 album Love over Gold. Clocking in at 14:18 minutes long, it is rarely played by radio stations, yet has remained highly regarded over the years.It was first played live at the...
", "Industrial Disease
Industrial Disease (song)
"Industrial Disease" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits and written by Mark Knopfler. It appeared on their 1982 album Love over Gold....
" and "It Never Rains" as well as the title track to that album.
With Love Over Gold still in the albums charts, the band released a four-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
titled ExtendedancEPlay
ExtendedancEPlay
ExtendedancEPlay is a three-track 12" EP by the British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1983. It is commonly called Twisting by the Pool, after the minor hit song of the same name on its first track....
in early 1983. Featuring the hit single "Twisting By the Pool", this was the first output by the band that featured new drummer Terry Williams
Terry Williams (drummer)
Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
, (formerly of Rockpile
Rockpile
Rockpile were a British rock and roll group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave...
), who had replaced Pick Withers in November 1982. A world tour followed later in 1983, and in March 1984 the double album Alchemy Live
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Side twoSide threeSide four-CD release:"Love over Gold", which had been released as a separate single in 1984, was added into the track list for the CD release, and the fade outs between sides 1 and 2 and sides 3 and 4 have been removed...
was released. Alchemy Live documented the recordings of two live shows in Hammersmith Odeon in London in July 1983, and reached number three in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
During 1983 and 1984 Knopfler was involved with other projects as well, including writing and producing the music score to the film Local Hero
Local Hero (album)
Local Hero is a 1983 soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler for the film Local Hero, produced by David Puttnam and written and directed by Bill Forsyth.-Track listing:# "The Rocks and the Water" # "Wild Theme" # "Freeway Flyer"...
which was a large success, and it was followed in 1984 by his scores for the films Cal
Cal (film)
Cal is a 1984 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor, and starring John Lynch and Helen Mirren. Based on the novella Cal written by Bernard MacLaverty who also wrote the script, the film was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where Helen Mirren won the award for Best Actress.-Plot:Cal...
and Comfort and Joy. Also during this time Knopfler produced Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's Infidels
Infidels
Infidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
album, as well as Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
and Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
; he also wrote Private Dancer
Private Dancer (song)
"Private Dancer" is a hit song recorded by Tina Turner, and written by Mark Knopfler. It is the title track of Tina Turner's most successful album, Private Dancer. The song is viewed from the prospective of a high-class prostitute, and it reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number...
for Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's comeback album of the same name
Private Dancer
Private Dancer is the fifth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Capitol Records in 1984, which became her breakthrough solo album. Turner's success with the album came after several challenging years of going solo after a public divorce from husband and performing partner Ike Turner. It is her...
.
Dire Straits' biggest studio album by far was their fifth, Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits album)
- Original LP track listing :- 2005 Re-Issue 2 LP track listing :The 2005 Limited Edition Deluxe 180 gram High Performance Vinyl reissue contained the full-length versions of all songs by spreading out the songs over two half speed mastered LPs....
, recorded at Air Studios Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
and released in May 1985. It became an international blockbuster which has now sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and is the fourth best selling album in UK chart history. Brothers In Arms spawned several chart singles including the US # 1 hit "Money for Nothing
Money for Nothing (song)
"Money for Nothing" is a single by British rock band Dire Straits, taken from their 1985 album Brothers in Arms. It was one of Dire Straits' most successful singles, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the U.S. Mainstream...
", which was the first video ever to be played on MTV in Britain. It was also the first compact disc to sell a million copies and is largely credited for launching the CD format as it was also one of the first DDD CDs ever released. Other successful singles were "So Far Away
So Far Away (Dire Straits song)
"So Far Away" is a 1985 rock song by Dire Straits. It appears on the album Brothers in Arms. It became the band's fourth top 20 hit on the Billboard charts, peaking at #19...
", "Walk of Life
Walk of Life (Dire Straits song)
"Walk of Life" is a 1985 song by the British rock band Dire Straits. It appeared on their best-selling album Brothers in Arms. It subsequently appeared on their live album On the Night. It was released as a single in November 1985 but had first been available as the b-side of "So Far Away" released...
", and the album's title track
Brothers in Arms (song)
"Brothers in Arms" is a 1985 song by Dire Straits, appearing as the closing track on the album of the same name. It is in G# minor.-History:There are two studio recorded versions of this song: the album version which is 6:55 seconds, and the shorter version which is 6:05 seconds and features...
. The band's 1985–86 world tour of over 230 shows was immensely successful.
After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating mainly on film soundtracks. Knopfler joined the charity ensemble Ferry Aid
Charity record
A charity record is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. Some of the earliest charity records came from the Music for UNICEF Concert, with ABBA's Chiquitita and the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven among them released as singles, with all the royalties going to UNICEF...
on "Let It Be" in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987. Knopfler wrote the music score for the film The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
which was released at the end of 1987.
Mark Knopfler also took part in a comedy skit (featured on the French and Saunders
French and Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
Show) titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron
Rowland Rivron
Rowland J. Rivron is a British comedian, musician, writer and television presenter.-Early life: Rivron was brought up in Hillingdon, West London and attended Abbotsfield Secondary School...
and fellow British musicians David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King
Mark King (musician)
Mark King is an English musician. He is most famous for being the lead singer and bassist of the band, Level 42. In the early 1980s King popularized the 1970s-era slap and pop style for playing the bass guitar by incorporating it into pop music.-Early life:King was brought up on the Isle of Wight,...
from Level 42, and Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.
Dire Straits regrouped for the 11 June 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on June 11, 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. It was also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert and Mandela Day...
concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act, and were accompanied by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, who by this time had developed a strong friendship with Knopfler. Shortly after this, drummer Terry Williams left the band. In September 1988 Mark Knopfler announced the official dissolution of Dire Straits, saying that he "needed a rest", and in October 1988, a "best of" album, Money for Nothing
Money for Nothing (album)
Money for Nothing is a greatest hits album by Dire Straits released in 1988. It features highlights from the band's first five albums. The vinyl edition omits "Telegraph Road" and has a different running order, with "Tunnel of Love" placed between "Money for Nothing", the title track, and "Brothers...
, was released and reached number one in the United Kingdom.
In 1989 Knopfler formed The Notting Hillbillies
The Notting Hillbillies
The Notting Hillbillies was a country music project formed by Mark Knopfler, who was then lead guitarist and singer of the Dire Straits, with Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Knopfler's bandmate Guy Fletcher. They made just one album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time. This album was...
, a band at the other end of the commercial spectrum. It leaned heavily towards American roots music - folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. The band members included keyboardist Guy Fletcher
Guy Fletcher
Guy Wilson Fletcher is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as the keyboardist in the British rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his involvement in nearly every part of Mark Knopfler's solo work to date.-Biography:Fletcher was born into a...
, with Brendan Croker
Brendan Croker
Brendan Croker is a musician from Leeds who has recorded albums under his own name and with occasional backing band The Five O'Clock Shadows. He was also a member of The Notting Hillbillies...
and Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips (musician)
Steve Phillips is an English blues and country musician. He is mainly renowned for being part of supergroup Notting Hillbillies along with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Brendan Croker.-Biography:...
. For both the album and the tour Paul Franklin
Paul Franklin (musician)
Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
was added to the line-up on pedal steel. The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time is the first and the only studio album by The Notting Hillbillies. It was released in 1990.-Track listing:# "Railroad Worksong" – 5:29 # "Bewildered" – 2:37...
was released in 1990, and Knopfler then toured with the Notting Hillbillies for the remainder of that year. He further emphasised his country music influences with his 1990s collaboration with Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Neck and Neck
Neck and Neck
Neck and Neck is a 1990 collaborative album by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler released by Columbia Records. "Poor Boy Blues" was released as a single and won the 1991 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. "So Soft Your Goodbye" won the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance...
. The Hillbillies toured the UK in early 1990 with a limited number of shows, it was strictly low key, packing out smaller venues, such as Newcastle University.
In 1990 Knopfler, John Illsley, and Alan Clark performed as Dire Straits at the Knebworth gig, joined by Eric Clapton, Ray Cooper
Ray Cooper
Ray Cooper is an English musician. He is a session and road-tour percussionist, and occasional actor, who has worked with several musically diverse bands and artists including George Harrison, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. Cooper is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow...
, and guitarist Phil Palmer
Phil Palmer
Philip 'Phil' John Palmer is a sideman and session guitarist in jazz and rock who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous famous artists...
(who was at that time part of Eric Clapton's touring band), and in January the following year, Knopfler, John Illsley and manager Ed Bicknell
Ed Bicknell
Ed Bicknell was on the Hull University entertainments committee, arranging bands for the students, when he first got a taste for the music industry. Moving to London, he worked as a drummer for Jess Conrad and then as a booker for John Sherry Artists, finding work for a number of prog-rock/college...
decided to reform Dire Straits. Knopfler, Illsley, Alan Clark, and Guy Fletcher set about recording what turned out to be their final studio album accompanied by several part-time sidemen
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
, including Phil Palmer, Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings
Danny Cummings
-Musical biography:The first Latin percussion instrument that Danny Cummings ever acquired was a second-hand conga he persuaded his parents to buy him for his 21st birthday. "I remember thinking that black fiberglass drum marked the beginning of a new era for me," says Cummings...
and Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
drummer Jeff Porcaro
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
.
The follow-up to Brothers In Arms was finally released in September 1991. On Every Street
On Every Street
On Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1991 . It made #1 on the UK Albums Chart.-History:...
was nowhere near as popular as its predecessor, and met with a mixed critical reaction, with some reviewers regarding the album as an underwhelming comeback after a six year break. Nonetheless, the album sold well and reached #1 in the UK. A gruelling world tour to accompany the album followed, which lasted until the end of 1992. This was to be Dire Straits' final world tour; it was not as well received as the previous Brothers In Arms tour, and by this time Mark Knopfler had had enough of such massive operations. This drove the band into the ground, and ultimately led to the group's final dissolution in 1995.
Following the tour, Knopfler took some time off from the music business. In 1993, he received an honorary music doctorate from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Two more Dire Straits albums were released, both live albums. On the Night
On the Night
On the Night is the second live album by Dire Straits. It was released in 1993, between Alchemy and Live at the BBC . It features many of their later hits, including the successful singles "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing"...
, released in May 1993, documented Dire Straits' final world tour. In 1995, following the release of Live at the BBC
Live at the BBC (Dire Straits album)
Live at the BBC is a live album by Dire Straits, recorded in-between Dire Straits, Communiqué and Making Movies. The studio version of first six songs were released on Dire Straits.-History:...
, Mark Knopfler quietly dissolved Dire Straits and launched his career as a solo artist.
Since the break-up of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has shown no interest in reforming the group. However, keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material to date, while Danny Cummings has also frequently contributed, including on Knopfler's last three solo album releases All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....
(with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
), Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....
and Get Lucky
Get Lucky (Mark Knopfler album)
Get Lucky is the sixth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 15 September in the United States in three configurations...
. In October 2008 Knopfler declined a suggestion by John Illsley that they should reform. Illsley said that a reunion would be "entirely up to Mark", however he also suggested that Knopfler is enjoying his continued success as a solo artist, saying that "He's doing incredibly well as a solo artist, so hats off to him. He's having a perfectly good time doing what he's doing". Knopfler meanwhile is quoted as saying "Oh, I don't know whether to start getting all that stuff back together again", and that the global fame that came his way in the 1980s "just got too big".
Solo career (1996–present)
Golden Heart
Golden Heart is the debut solo album by Mark Knopfler, following a successful career leading the British rock band Dire Straits and composing a string of critically acclaimed film soundtrack albums. The album was released on 26 March 1996...
, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty
Darling Pretty
"Darling Pretty" is the first single from the album Golden Heart by Mark Knopfler, released in 1996. It reached number 33 in the UK Singles Chart. The song featured in the 1996 film Twister. "Gravy Train", the second track in the maxi-single, featured in the 2001 film America's Sweethearts....
", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.
Also in 1996, Mark Knopfler recorded guitar for Ted Christopher's Dunblane massacre
Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
tribute cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing
Sultans of Swing
"Sultans of Swing" was the first single release of the British rock band Dire Straits. First released in 1978, its 1979 re-release caused it to become a hit in both the UK and USA....
", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia
Sailing to Philadelphia
Sailing to Philadelphia is the second solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 26 September 2000. The title track is drawn from Thomas Pynchon's novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, the two English surveyors who established the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Delaware and...
. This has been his most successful to date, possibly helped by the number of collaborators to the album like Van Morrison.
In 2002 Mark Knopfler gave four charity concerts with former Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White
Chris White (saxophonist)
Chris White English jazz/rock saxophonist who toured with Dire Straits from 1985–1995, and who has played with many bands and artists, including Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Chris De Burgh and Mick Jagger.-Biography:...
, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher, playing old material from the Dire Straits years. The concerts also featured The Notting Hillbillies with Brendan Croker and Steve Phillips. At these four concerts (three of the four were at the Shepherd's Bush, the fourth at Beaulieu
Beaulieu, Hampshire
Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :...
on the south coast) they were joined by Jimmy Nail
Jimmy Nail
James Bradford "Jimmy" Nail is an English singer-songwriter, actor, musician, film producer, film score composer and television writer....
, who provided backing vocals for Knopfler's 2002 composition "Why Aye Man".
Also in 2002 Knopfler released his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream
The Ragpicker's Dream
The Ragpicker's Dream is the third solo album by Mark Knopfler. Released on 30 September 2002, the album is a collection of songs written from the point of view of poor but dignified itinerant men, struggling to get by in life, often enjoying small triumphs. Knopfler gives a folk imprint to the...
. However, in March 2003 he was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosvenor Road, Belgravia and suffered a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade and seven broken ribs. The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but Knopfler recovered and was able to return to the stage in 2004 for his fourth album, Shangri-La.
Shangri-La was recorded at the Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California in 2004, where The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
made recordings years before for their documentary/movie, The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
. In the promo for "Shangri-La" on his official website he said that his current line-up of Glenn Worf
Glenn Worf
Glenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
(bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
(drums), Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (guitarist)
Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
(guitar) and Matt Rollings
Matt Rollings
Matt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
(piano) "play Dire Straits songs better than Dire Straits did." The "Shangri-La" tour took Mark to countries like India and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. In India, his concerts at Mumbai and Bangalore were very well received, with over 20,000 fans gathering at each concert to listen to a legend many thought would never visit their country.
In November 2005 a compilation, The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations is a 2005 best of album. Named after their 1982 hit single, it consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the majority of the group's six studio albums from 1978 up to the group's dissolution in 1995...
was released, consisting of material from most of Dire Straits' studio albums and Mark Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. The album was made available in two editions: a single CD (with a grey cover) and also as double CD (with the cover in blue), and was well-received. The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All the Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, which was followed in 2006 by an album of duets of the same name.
Released in April 2006, All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....
reached #1 in Denmark and Switzerland, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #3 in Germany, Holland and Italy, #8 in Austria and UK, #9 in Spain, #17 in the United States (Billboard Top 200 Chart), #25 in Ireland and #41 in Australia. All the Roadrunning was nominated for "Best Folk Rock/Americana Album" at the 49th Grammy Awards (11 February 2007) but lost out to Bob Dylan's nomination for Modern Times
Modern Times (Bob Dylan album)
Modern Times is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 32nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 2006. The album was Dylan's third straight to be met with nearly universal praise from fans and critics...
.
Joined by Emmylou Harris, Knopfler supported All the Roadrunning with a limited – 15 gigs in Europe, 1 in Canada and 8 in the USA – but highly successful tour of Europe and N America. Selections from the duo's 28 June performance at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California, were released as a DVD entitled Real Live Roadrunning
Real Live Roadrunning
Real Live Roadrunning is a live album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in November 2006, it was recorded at the end of their summer tour in support of their critically acclaimed album, All the Roadrunning. The album is released by Warner Bros. Records and Mercury Records as a DVD...
on 14 November 2006. In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, Real Live Roadrunning features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as three tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.
A charity event in 2007 went wrong. A Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Knopfler, Clapton, Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
was to be auctioned for £20,000 to raise the money for a children's hospice, was lost when being shipped. It "vanished after being posted from London to Leicestershire, England". Parcelforce
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd.Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide...
, the company responsible, has agreed to pay US$30,000 for its loss.
Knopfler released his fifth solo studio-album Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....
on 14 September 2007 in Germany, 17 September in the UK and 18 September in the United States. During the autumn of 2007 he played a series of intimate 'showcases' in various European cities to promote the album. A tour of Europe and North America followed in 2008. Many older songs from the early solo days, such as Cannibals (from Golden Heart
Golden Heart
Golden Heart is the debut solo album by Mark Knopfler, following a successful career leading the British rock band Dire Straits and composing a string of critically acclaimed film soundtrack albums. The album was released on 26 March 1996...
), were brought back to life. Cannibals opened up shows throughout Europe. Cannibals was received extremely well particularly in Ireland as it was released by an Irish Country Artist David Maguire in 2007. The new version of Cannibals that David Maguire and his Band released was the 7th most requested song on Irish radio that year.
Continuing a pattern of high productivity through his solo career, Knopfler began work on his next studio album, entitled Get Lucky
Get Lucky (Mark Knopfler album)
Get Lucky is the sixth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 15 September in the United States in three configurations...
, in September 2008 with long-time band mate Guy Fletcher, who again compiled a pictorial diary of the making of the album on his website. The album was released on September 14 the following year and Knopfler subsequently undertook an extensive tour across Europe and America. The album met with moderate success on the charts (much of it in Europe) reaching #1 only in Norway but peaking in the Top 5 in most major European countries (Germany, Italy, Holland). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard European Album chart and at #5 on the Billboard Rock Album chart.
Knopfler's solo live performances can be characterized as relaxed—almost workmanlike. He uses very little stage production, other than some lighting effects to enhance the music's dynamics. He has been known to sip tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
on stage during live performances. Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (guitarist)
Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
, who has been playing with him on tour since 1996, has also joined in drinking tea with him on stage. On 31 July 2005, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a performing arts venue in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along with the Orpheum and the Vancouver Playhouse, it is one of three facilities operated by the Vancouver Civic Theatres Department .Formerly the home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, which...
in Vancouver, BC, the tea was replaced with whiskey as a "last show of tour" sort of joke.
In February 2009, Knopfler gave an intimate solo concert at the Garrick Club
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
in London. Knopfler had recently become a member of the exclusive gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
for men of letters.
In 2010, Knopfler appeared on the newest Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
release, the EP Amerikana. Knopfler performed on the track "17 Hills".
In February 2011, Knopfler began work on his next solo album, once again working with Guy Fletcher. A release date is yet to be announced. In July 2011, it was announced that Knopfler would take time out from recording this album in order to take part in a European tour with Bob Dylan during October and November.
Country music
In addition to his work in Dire Straits and solo, Mark Knopfler has made several contributions to country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. In 1988 he formed country-focused band The Notting Hillbillies
The Notting Hillbillies
The Notting Hillbillies was a country music project formed by Mark Knopfler, who was then lead guitarist and singer of the Dire Straits, with Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Knopfler's bandmate Guy Fletcher. They made just one album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time. This album was...
, with Guy Fletcher
Guy Fletcher
Guy Wilson Fletcher is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as the keyboardist in the British rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his involvement in nearly every part of Mark Knopfler's solo work to date.-Biography:Fletcher was born into a...
, Brendan Croker
Brendan Croker
Brendan Croker is a musician from Leeds who has recorded albums under his own name and with occasional backing band The Five O'Clock Shadows. He was also a member of The Notting Hillbillies...
and Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips (musician)
Steve Phillips is an English blues and country musician. He is mainly renowned for being part of supergroup Notting Hillbillies along with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Brendan Croker.-Biography:...
. The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time is the first and the only studio album by The Notting Hillbillies. It was released in 1990.-Track listing:# "Railroad Worksong" – 5:29 # "Bewildered" – 2:37...
was released in 1990 and featured the minor hit single "Your Own Sweet Way". Knopfler further emphasised his country music influences with his collaboration with Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Neck and Neck
Neck and Neck
Neck and Neck is a 1990 collaborative album by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler released by Columbia Records. "Poor Boy Blues" was released as a single and won the 1991 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. "So Soft Your Goodbye" won the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance...
, which was also released in 1990. "Poor Boy Blues", taken from that collaboration, peaked at #92.
Knopfler's other contributions include writing and playing guitar on John Anderson
John Anderson (musician)
John David Anderson is an American country music artist with a successful career that has lasted more than 30 years...
's 1992 single "When It Comes to You" (from his album Seminole Wind
Seminole Wind
Seminole Wind is a studio album released in 1992 by American country music artist John Anderson. This is also known as his comeback album. It features the singles "Straight Tequila Night", "Let Go of the Stone", "When It Comes to You", and the title track, all of which reached the country top ten,...
). In 1993 Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
also released a cover of the Dire Straits song "The Bug
The Bug (song)
The song was covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter on her 1992 album Come On Come On and was released as a single the next year, peaking at 16 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks. This version of the song is also included on the soundtrack of the 2006 computer animated film Everyone's...
". Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
released another of Knopfler's songs, "Are We In Trouble Now", in 1996. In that same year, Knopfler's solo single "Darling Pretty" reached a peak of #87.
Knopfler collaborated with George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
on the 1994 "The Bradley Barn Sessions" album performing guitar duties on the classic J.P. Richardson composition White Lightnin'
White Lightning (George Jones song)
"White Lightning" is the title of a song written by the rockabilly artist J. P. Richardson, best known by his stage name, The Big Bopper. The song was recorded by American country music artist George Jones and released as a single in February 1959. On April 13, 1959, Jones' version became the first...
.
Knopfler is featured on Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
's album "The Austin Sessions", (on the track "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends") released in 1999 by Atlantic Records.
In 2006 Knopfler and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
made a country album together titled All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning
All the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....
. Knopfler also charted two singles on the Canadian country music singles chart.
Again in 2006, Knopfler contributed the song "Whoop De Doo" to Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
's "Gulf and Western" style album "Take the Weather with You
Take the Weather with You
Take the Weather with You is the 27th studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, released on RCA Records in 2006. It peaked at #1 on Billboards country charts, also reaching #4 on the "Billboard 200"...
".
Personal life
Mark Knopfler has been married three times. His first marriage was to Kathy White, his long-time girlfriend from school days. They separated before Knopfler moved to London to join Brewers Droop in 1973. In November 1983, Knopfler married his second wife, Lourdes Salomone. Their marriage produced twin sons, Benji and Joseph (born 1987), both of whom are musically talented and aspiring musicians, according to Knopfler. His marriage to Salomone ended in 1993. On Valentine's DayValentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1997, Knopfler married his third and current wife, British actress and writer Kitty Aldridge
Kitty Aldridge
Kitty Aldridge is a British actress and writer.-Biography:After training as an actress at the Drama Centre London, Aldridge worked in film, theatre and television as an actress. She released her first novel Pop in 2001, and her second Cryers Hill was published on 1 March 2007. Aldridge is married...
on the Caribbean island of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. They had been dating for three years. Their marriage so far has produced two daughters, Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003). The family currently lives in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
.
Musical style
Mark Knopfler is left-handed, but plays right-handed, and fingerpicks (using a personal variant of the clawhammerClawhammer
Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...
style) instead of using a plectrum
Plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
(i.e., "pick
Guitar pick
A guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
"). Fingerpicking is usually associated with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. He revealed during a French interview that he uses a pick for his rhythm work during recording sessions. He surprised the interviewer by pulling a pick
Plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
out of his pocket and saying that he usually carries one. He has long favoured Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
and Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
style guitars. Fender carries a Mark Knopfler Artist Series Stratocaster. During the 1980s he came to appreciate the tone of the Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
and his original 1958 has been used regularly in the studio and on stage.
Guitars
Knopfler has approximated that he now owns "around 70 guitars". They include:- National Triplate, 1930s National Style O 14 fret
- Pensa Custom MKIIPensa Custom GuitarsPensa Custom Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses in handmade fashion. The company is based in New York City. Pensa Custom Guitars was founded by argentinian luthier Rudy Pensa. Pensa strives to make extremely high quality guitars. They are therefore among...
, a custom Pensa guitar given to Knopfler by his friend Rudy Pensa in 2005 - Pensa custom-built solid body guitars, models MK-1, MK-2, and MK-80 are named in Knopfler's honour
- Red-painted (Stratocaster style) Melancon Pro Artist
- Hofner V-2 (Mark's first guitar)
- Fender StratocastersFender StratocasterThe Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
, including a 1962 Fiesta Red and a 1954 Sunburst (one of the first ever produced), which Knopfler named "Jurassic Strat" - Gibson Les Paul Special (used in the 1970s)
- National Tricone 1928 model
- National Style O Resonator guitarResonator guitarA resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
1937 model ("Romeo and Juliet"), a replica of which is available from National Resophonic Guitars - Fender Telecaster 1952Fender TelecasterThe Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
- Burns BaldwinBurns LondonBurns London is a guitar-making company originally formed in 1960 as Ormston Burns Ltd. It was founded by James Ormston Burns , who has been described as the British Leo Fender...
12-string ("Angel of Mercy" and the Get Lucky album) - Ovation Acoustic
- SchecterSchecter Guitar ResearchSchecter Guitar Research, commonly known as simply as Schecter, is a US guitar manufacturer. The company was founded in 1976 by David Schecter and originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson...
Telecaster and Stratocaster models (from 1980 on) - RickenbackerRickenbackerRickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
425 (Used on Portobello Belle, later on The Ragpicker's Dream session) - FernandesFernandes GuitarsFernandes Guitars is a guitar and accessory manufacturer that originated in Japan in 1969, building flamenco guitars. As the company grew it expanded production to include more acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar...
Stratocaster - Ovation Adams (Love Over Gold album, Brothers in Arms tour)
- GibsonGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Chet Atkins (Love Over Gold album) - Erlewine Automatic ("Industrial Disease")
- Martin AcousticsC. F. Martin & CompanyC.F. Martin & Company is a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for its steel-string guitars, and is a leading mass manufacturer of flattop acoustics with models that retail for thousands of dollars and vintage instruments that often...
, HD-40MK, 000-40S Mark Knopfler, and 00028 ("Brothers in Arms") - Gibson SG (Two Young Lovers, Alchemy tour)
- Gibson Les PaulGibson Les PaulThe Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
1958, 1959, and 1984 models - Pensa-Suhr R Custom (Knopfler's first Pensa) (Brothers in Arms album, "Ride Across the River" and "So far Away")
- GretschGretschThe Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
Super Chet, 6120 (Golden Heart album) - Steinberger GL2 (Brothers in Arms tour)
- BeltonaBeltona Resonator InstrumentsBeltona Resonator Instruments is a manfucturer of resonator guitars, resonator mandolins, and resonator ukuleles, based in Whangarei, New Zealand. Beltona Resonator Instruments was founded in England in 1990 by Steve Evans and Bill Johnson, later moving to New Zealand in 1998....
Electro Resonator - Flamed Pensa, 3 models (late 1980s)
- Gibson J45 (On Every Street album)
- Gibson Super 400 (On Every Street album and tour)
- Godin L.R. Baggs (On Every Street tour)
- Red Pensa (On Every Street tour)
- Ramírez Spanish Guitar (from 1992 on)
- Pensa-Suhr, black (Golden Heart album and tour)
- Gibson ES-335
- DanelectroDanelectroDanelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.-History:...
SilvertoneSilvertone (instruments)Silvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand by Sears in 1915... - Gibson Southerner
- Fender JazzmasterFender JazzmasterThe Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as an upmarket sibling to the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed at jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s...
- EkoEko guitarsEko is an Italian manufacturer of electric guitars, acoustic guitars and similar instruments, catering to professional level and manufacturing largely for export...
700 - Teisco Spectrum, 2 models
- Danelectro 59 DC
- Fender Duo Sonic 11 (Kill to Get Crimson album)
- Gibson Advanced Jumbo
- Gibson ES-330
- NS 14, Steve Phillips (Get Lucky album)
- Monteleone Isabella
- Don Grosh Electrajet
- Gibson Dove
Effects
Throughout his career Knopfler has used a wide selection of effect pedals in the studio and during live performances. Here is a list of some of them:- Alesis QuadraverbAlesisAlesis is a company based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio and electronic percussion products...
- BossBoss CorporationBoss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...
BF-2 FlangerFlangingFlanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,... - Boss CE-2 ChorusChorus effectIn music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
- Boss CE-300 ChorusChorus effectIn music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
- Boss CS-2 Compressor
- Boss DM-2 DelayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
- MXR Micro AmpMXRMXR, also known as MXR Innovations, was a manufacturer of guitar effects units, co-founded in 1973 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood . MXR was based in the United States in Rochester, New York. MXR Innovations, Inc. was incorporated in 1974...
- Boss OC-2 Octaver
- Boss PH-2 PhaserPhaser (effect)A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary over time, creating a sweeping effect...
- DeltaLab Digital DelayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
- Ibanez UE 303 Multi EffectIbanezis a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
- LexiconLexicon (company)Lexicon is an American audio equipment manufacturing company founded in 1971 and owned by Harman International Industries. Lexicon's roots began in 1969 with the founding of American Data Sciences by MIT professor Dr...
300 ReverbReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air... - Mantec PreampPreamplifierA preamplifier is an electronic amplifier that prepares a small electrical signal for further amplification or processing. A preamplifier is often placed close to the sensor to reduce the effects of noise and interference. It is used to boost the signal strength to drive the cable to the main...
- Master Room ReverbReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
- Morley Volume PedalMorley PedalsMorley Pedals is the name of a guitar effects pedal company, famous for manufacturing wah-wah pedals and other treadle type effects for guitar. Morley pedals use electro-optical circuitry rather than a potentiometer to control the effect. The foot treadle controls a shutter inside the pedal that...
- Mic-Mix Dyna-FlangerFlangingFlanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
- MXRMXRMXR, also known as MXR Innovations, was a manufacturer of guitar effects units, co-founded in 1973 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood . MXR was based in the United States in Rochester, New York. MXR Innovations, Inc. was incorporated in 1974...
Analog DelayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay... - RolandRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
Graphic EqualizerEqualizationEqualization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used... - RolandRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
SRE 555 Chorus/EchoChorus effectIn music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one... - YamahaYamahaYamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
REV 5ReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air... - Zoom Multieffect 9010
Amplifiers
Knopfler has often used many different combinations of amplifiers and cabinets to create his desired sounds.- Crate VC5212 amplifierCrate AmplifiersCrate Amplification is a company that produces electric guitar amplifiers.- Early Crate Amps :In the late 1970s, Crate made amplifiers that actually looked like wooden crates...
- Crate 2x12 cabinetCrate AmplifiersCrate Amplification is a company that produces electric guitar amplifiers.- Early Crate Amps :In the late 1970s, Crate made amplifiers that actually looked like wooden crates...
- Fender ConcertFender ConcertThe Fender Concert was an guitar amplifier made by Fender. It was introduced in 1960 and it was discontinued in 1967, at which time a typical Fender Concert was priced at $315, about as much as a Martin D-28 at the time...
- Fender VibroluxFender AmplifiersFender Amplifiers have a long history. Leo Fender began building guitar amps before he started manufacturing guitars. The first of these amps were the K&F models, which were produced between 1945 and 1946...
- Fender Twin Reverb
- Gallien & Krueger amplifierGallien-KruegerGallien-Krueger, also referred to as 'GK' , is an instrument amplifier manufacturer. The company is based in Stockton, California, and was founded in 1968....
- Jim Kelley comboJim Kelley AmplifiersJim Kelley Amplifiers is the trademark for the vacuum tube guitar amplifiers manufactured by Active Guitar Electronics of Tustin, California between the years of 1978 and 1985. Approximately 600 of these amps were built during that time...
- Jim Kelley headsJim Kelley AmplifiersJim Kelley Amplifiers is the trademark for the vacuum tube guitar amplifiers manufactured by Active Guitar Electronics of Tustin, California between the years of 1978 and 1985. Approximately 600 of these amps were built during that time...
- Komet amplifiers
- Marshall JTM headsMarshall AmplificationMarshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
- Marshall 4x12 cabinet
- Mesa Boogie headsMesa BoogieMesa/Boogie is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969....
- Music Man HD 130Music Man (company)Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
- Soldano SLO 100SoldanoSoldano is a guitar amplifier manufacturing company, founded in 1986 by Michael Soldano in Los Angeles, California and later relocated to Seattle, Washington. It is mostly known for its modern high gain amps, particularly their flagship model — Soldano SLO-100, but product lineup also...
- Roland Jazz Chorus
- Tone King ImperialTone KingTone King is a manufacturer of vacuum tube guitar amplifiers located in Baltimore, MD.Tone King was founded by Mark Bartel in 1993 in Kingston, New York. In 1994 Mark moved the company to Baltimore....
- Vox AC30Vox AC30The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound. First introduced in 1958 due to the growing demand for higher-wattage amplifiers, it became an iconic amplifier for British musicians and soon for others....
On the "Get Lucky" tour in 2010, Knopfler is using a pair of custom built Reinhardt guitar amp heads with matching cabinets, and a Tone King combo in between that is used on some songs.
Honors and awards
- 1983 BRIT AwardBrit AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
for Best British Group (with Dire Straits) - 1986 Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with Dire StraitsDire StraitsDire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
(for "Money for Nothing") - 1986 Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year (for "Money for NothingMoney for Nothing (song)"Money for Nothing" is a single by British rock band Dire Straits, taken from their 1985 album Brothers in Arms. It was one of Dire Straits' most successful singles, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the U.S. Mainstream...
") - 1986 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
(for "Cosmic Square Dance") - 1986 Juno AwardJuno AwardThe Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for International Album of the Year (for Brothers in Arms with Dire Straits) - 1986 BRIT Award for Best British Group (with Dire Straits)
- 1987 BRIT Award for Best British Album (for Brothers in Arms with Dire Straits)
- 1991 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Chet Atkins (for "Poor Boy BluesPoor Boy Blues"Poor Boy Blues" or "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home" is a traditional blues song of unknown origin. As with most traditional blues songs, there is great variation in the melody and lyrical content as performed by different artists...
") - 1991 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for "So Soft, Your Goodbye")
- 1992 Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for "Neck and NeckNeck and NeckNeck and Neck is a 1990 collaborative album by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler released by Columbia Records. "Poor Boy Blues" was released as a single and won the 1991 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. "So Soft Your Goodbye" won the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance...
") - 1993 Honorary Doctor of MusicDoctor of MusicThe Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
from Newcastle University - 1995 Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
- 1999 OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- 2001 Masiakasaurus knopfleri (a species of dinosaur) was named after him by scientists who had listened to his music while digging the fossils.
- 2003 Edison Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Music Industry, the highest award for musicians in the Netherlands
- 2006 Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album (for Brothers in Arms 20th Anniversary Edition with Dire Straits)
- 2007 Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of SunderlandUniversity of SunderlandThe University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
- 2007 Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album with Emmylou Harris (for "All the RoadrunningAll the RoadrunningAll the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....
"). - 2009 Music Producers GuildThe Music Producers GuildThe Music Producers Guild promotes and represents all individuals in the music production and recording professions. It is a professional organisation that embodies collective and individual creative contributions to the production and recording of all genres of music and media related...
Award for Best Studio (for Knopfler's British Grove StudiosBritish Grove StudiosBritish Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, owned by musician Mark Knopfler.British Grove Studios was built by Mark Knopfler as "a monument to past and future technology". It has two studios... - 2009 PRS for Music Heritage AwardHeritage AwardThe Heritage Award is a ceremonial plaque installed in a public place to commemorate a link between a famous musician or music band and the location they performed their first live gig...
(with Dire Straits) - 2011 Steiger AwardSteiger AwardThe Steiger Award or Der Steiger is an international award established in 2005 and presented annually by the award organization based in Bochum, Germany. The title translates as The Miner, and reflects the qualities of responsibility, honesty, openness and hard work valued in the North Rhine...
Knopfler's influence
- Played together with Dire Straits' drummer Pick WithersPick WithersDavid "Pick" Withers was the original drummer for the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations."...
on Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's studio album Slow Train ComingSlow Train ComingSlow Train Coming is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 19th studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1979.It was the artist's first effort since becoming a born-again Christian, and all of the songs either express his strong personal faith, or stress the importance of Christian teachings...
, which was recorded in May 1979 and released 20 August; providing Dylan with what Dylan considered his best guitar backing since the days of Mike BloomfieldMike BloomfieldMichael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
and Robbie RobertsonRobbie RobertsonRobbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
. Knopfler also played in and co-produced Dylan's 1983 album InfidelsInfidelsInfidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
. - British author and humorist Douglas AdamsDouglas AdamsDouglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
said about Knopfler, in his book So Long, and Thanks for All the FishSo Long, and Thanks for All the FishSo Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The...
: "Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Schecter Custom Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff drink." - The dinosaur species Masiakasaurus knopfleri was named after Knopfler. The palaeontologists were listening to Dire Straits recordings when they discovered the species.
- On "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's parody of "Money for NothingMoney for Nothing (song)"Money for Nothing" is a single by British rock band Dire Straits, taken from their 1985 album Brothers in Arms. It was one of Dire Straits' most successful singles, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the U.S. Mainstream...
", "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", which merges the instrumentals of "Money For Nothing" with the lyrics to the theme song for the American television series The Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
("The Ballad of Jed ClampettThe Ballad of Jed Clampett"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show and movie, providing the back story for the series. The song was written and composed by Paul Henning, and sung by Jerry Scoggins, who was accompanied by bluegrass musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs...
"), Knopfler played guitar in the song, recreating the guitar riff from the original song. He would only allow Yankovic to parody the song if he was allowed to play on the recording. - Knopfler's song "Going Home" from the soundtrackLocal Hero (album)Local Hero is a 1983 soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler for the film Local Hero, produced by David Puttnam and written and directed by Bill Forsyth.-Track listing:# "The Rocks and the Water" # "Wild Theme" # "Freeway Flyer"...
to Local HeroLocal HeroLocal Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
is played before kick-off at Newcastle United's home matches at St James' ParkSt James' ParkSt James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...
. - "Going Home" is also the theme music for John Stanley on Sydney radio station 2UE2UE2UE is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by Fairfax Media. It is Sydney's and Australia's oldest commercial radio station, first broadcasting on 26 January 1925 on 1025 kHz AM before moving to 950 kHz in 1935 when virtually all Australian radio stations were assigned new...
. - According to director Rob ReinerRob ReinerRobert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, Knopfler agreed to write the music for Reiner's The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride (film)The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
on one condition: Reiner had to put the hat that he wore in This Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
in Princess Bride, "somewhere in evidence", as homage to the rock mockumentaryMockumentaryA mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
. The hat makes its appearance in Princess Bride in the Grandson's (Fred SavageFred SavageFredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series The Wonder Years and as the grandson in The Princess Bride...
) bedroom. - Indian cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
superstar Sachin TendulkarSachin TendulkarSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
is a fan of Mark Knopfler. They once had a joint interview on cricket commentator Harsha BhogleHarsha BhogleHarsha Bhogle is an Indian cricket commentator and journalist. He was born in a Marathi speaking family in Hyderabad.-Early life:...
's show Harsha Online. - The 2008 stage production Celtic Thunder has covers of multiple Mark Knopfler songs. "Brothers in ArmsBrothers in Arms (song)"Brothers in Arms" is a 1985 song by Dire Straits, appearing as the closing track on the album of the same name. It is in G# minor.-History:There are two studio recorded versions of this song: the album version which is 6:55 seconds, and the shorter version which is 6:05 seconds and features...
", written by Mark Knopfler and performed originally by Dire Straits, is performed by Ryan Kelly. As well, the song "Irish Boy" (from CalCal (film)Cal is a 1984 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor, and starring John Lynch and Helen Mirren. Based on the novella Cal written by Bernard MacLaverty who also wrote the script, the film was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where Helen Mirren won the award for Best Actress.-Plot:Cal...
) and "Going Home" (from Local HeroLocal HeroLocal Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
) are performed together as an instrumental, entitled "Cal/Local Hero".
Dire Straits albums
- Dire StraitsDire Straits (album)Dire Straits is the self-titled debut album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in October 1978 by Phonogram Records.-History:...
(1978) - Communiqué (1979)
- Making MoviesMaking MoviesMaking Movies is the third album by English rock band Dire Straits, released in 1980.- History :The title of the album comes from a line in the song "Skateaway" and the unreleased song "Making Movies". Rolling Stone ranked the album #52 in their survey of the "100 Best Albums of the 80s"...
(1980) - Love over GoldLove over GoldLove Over Gold is the fourth album by British rock band Dire Straits.- History :Due to its lengthy atmospheric instrumental passages, the album has been cited as the band's attempt at progressive rock....
(1982) - AlchemyAlchemy: Dire Straits LiveSide twoSide threeSide four-CD release:"Love over Gold", which had been released as a separate single in 1984, was added into the track list for the CD release, and the fade outs between sides 1 and 2 and sides 3 and 4 have been removed...
(1984, live) - Brothers in ArmsBrothers in Arms (Dire Straits album)- Original LP track listing :- 2005 Re-Issue 2 LP track listing :The 2005 Limited Edition Deluxe 180 gram High Performance Vinyl reissue contained the full-length versions of all songs by spreading out the songs over two half speed mastered LPs....
(1985) - Money for NothingMoney for Nothing (album)Money for Nothing is a greatest hits album by Dire Straits released in 1988. It features highlights from the band's first five albums. The vinyl edition omits "Telegraph Road" and has a different running order, with "Tunnel of Love" placed between "Money for Nothing", the title track, and "Brothers...
(1988, compilation) - On Every StreetOn Every StreetOn Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1991 . It made #1 on the UK Albums Chart.-History:...
(1991) - On the NightOn the NightOn the Night is the second live album by Dire Straits. It was released in 1993, between Alchemy and Live at the BBC . It features many of their later hits, including the successful singles "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing"...
(1993, live) - Live at the BBCLive at the BBC (Dire Straits album)Live at the BBC is a live album by Dire Straits, recorded in-between Dire Straits, Communiqué and Making Movies. The studio version of first six songs were released on Dire Straits.-History:...
(1995, live) - Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (1998, compilation)
- The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private InvestigationsThe Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private InvestigationsThe Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations is a 2005 best of album. Named after their 1982 hit single, it consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the majority of the group's six studio albums from 1978 up to the group's dissolution in 1995...
(2005, compilation)
Solo albums
- Golden HeartGolden HeartGolden Heart is the debut solo album by Mark Knopfler, following a successful career leading the British rock band Dire Straits and composing a string of critically acclaimed film soundtrack albums. The album was released on 26 March 1996...
(1996) - Sailing to PhiladelphiaSailing to PhiladelphiaSailing to Philadelphia is the second solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 26 September 2000. The title track is drawn from Thomas Pynchon's novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, the two English surveyors who established the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Delaware and...
(2000) - The Ragpicker's DreamThe Ragpicker's DreamThe Ragpicker's Dream is the third solo album by Mark Knopfler. Released on 30 September 2002, the album is a collection of songs written from the point of view of poor but dignified itinerant men, struggling to get by in life, often enjoying small triumphs. Knopfler gives a folk imprint to the...
(2002) - Shangri-La (2004)
- The Trawlerman's Song EP (2005, EP)
- One Take Radio Sessions (2005, EP live)
- The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private InvestigationsThe Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private InvestigationsThe Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations is a 2005 best of album. Named after their 1982 hit single, it consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the majority of the group's six studio albums from 1978 up to the group's dissolution in 1995...
(2005, compilation) - Kill to Get CrimsonKill to Get CrimsonKill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....
(2007) - Get LuckyGet Lucky (Mark Knopfler album)Get Lucky is the sixth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 15 September in the United States in three configurations...
(2009)
Soundtrack albums
- Local HeroLocal Hero (album)Local Hero is a 1983 soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler for the film Local Hero, produced by David Puttnam and written and directed by Bill Forsyth.-Track listing:# "The Rocks and the Water" # "Wild Theme" # "Freeway Flyer"...
(1983) - Cal (1984)
- Comfort and JoyComfort and Joy (album)Comfort and Joy is a 1984 soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler for the film Comfort and Joy, written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring Bill Paterson. Although there were only three original pieces written for the movie, addition songs from the Dire Straits album Love Over Gold are used...
(1984) - The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride (album)The Princess Bride is a 1987 soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler for the film The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner. Released by Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Vertigo Records internationally, the album contains the song "Storybook Love", performed by Willy DeVille and co-written...
(1987) - Last Exit to BrooklynLast Exit to Brooklyn (album)Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1989 [soundtrack album]] by Mark Knopfler for the film Last Exit to Brooklyn. Although the album credits Knopfler as an artist, all the songs are performed by Guy Fletcher.-Track listing:...
(1989) - ScreenplayingScreenplayingScreenplaying is a 1993 soundtrack compilation album by Mark Knopfler, containing tracks from the soundtrack albums Cal , Last Exit to Brooklyn , The Princess Bride , and Local Hero .-Track listing:...
(1993 compilation) - Wag the DogWag the DogWag the Dog is a 1997 black comedy film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, co-starring Anne Heche, Denis Leary and William H. Macy about a Washington spin doctor who, merely days before a presidential election, distracts the electorate from a sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood film producer...
(1998) - MetrolandMetroland (soundtrack)Metroland is a 1999 original soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler with music from the film of the same name. The instrumental tracks, specifically composed and recorded for the film Knopfler, effectively help to create the mood and highlight the distinct personalities of the principal characters, with...
(1999) - A Shot at GloryA Shot at Glory (album)A Shot at Glory is a 2002 original soundtrack album by Mark Knopfler with music from the film of the same name, directed by Michael Corrente...
(2002)
Collaborative albums
- Missing...Presumed Having a Good TimeMissing...Presumed Having a Good TimeMissing...Presumed Having a Good Time is the first and the only studio album by The Notting Hillbillies. It was released in 1990.-Track listing:# "Railroad Worksong" – 5:29 # "Bewildered" – 2:37...
(with The Notting HillbilliesThe Notting HillbilliesThe Notting Hillbillies was a country music project formed by Mark Knopfler, who was then lead guitarist and singer of the Dire Straits, with Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Knopfler's bandmate Guy Fletcher. They made just one album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time. This album was...
, 1990) - Neck and NeckNeck and NeckNeck and Neck is a 1990 collaborative album by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler released by Columbia Records. "Poor Boy Blues" was released as a single and won the 1991 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. "So Soft Your Goodbye" won the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance...
(with Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, 1990) - All the RoadrunningAll the RoadrunningAll the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....
(with Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, 2006) - Real Live RoadrunningReal Live RoadrunningReal Live Roadrunning is a live album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in November 2006, it was recorded at the end of their summer tour in support of their critically acclaimed album, All the Roadrunning. The album is released by Warner Bros. Records and Mercury Records as a DVD...
(with Emmylou Harris, 2006)
Produced albums
- InfidelsInfidelsInfidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
(1983) by Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. Although Mark disowned the reworked version of the album as released, his production is still noticeable. Left off the album, but later released on The Bootleg Series, is the critically acclaimed "Blind Willie McTell"Blind Willie McTell (song)"Blind Willie McTell" is a song by Bob Dylan, titled after the blues singer Blind Willie McTell. It was recorded in 1983 but left off Dylan's album Infidels and officially released in 1991 on the The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 1961-1991. The melody is loosely based on "St. James Infirmary Blues"...
, featuring only Dylan, singing and playing piano, accompanied by Mark Knopfler on acoustic guitar. - KnifeKnife (album)Knife is the second album by Aztec Camera and was released in 1984. It reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart – their highest showing at that time...
(1984) by Aztec CameraAztec CameraAztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
. This Scottish indie/new wave band was mostly a vehicle for the work of Roddy FrameRoddy FrameRoddy Frame is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician, who was the founder of the 1980s indie band, Aztec Camera, and more recently is a solo performer.-Career:...
, much as Dire Straits only ever recorded Mark Knopfler compositions. - MiracleMiracle (Willy DeVille album)Miracle is an album by Willy DeVille. Recorded in 1987, it was the first album that Willy DeVille recorded under his own name. Prior to Miracle, DeVille recorded six albums with the band Mink DeVille, the last four of which were really solo albums by Willy DeVille in that no members of the...
(1987) by Willy DeVilleWilly DeVilleWilly DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
. The album was dedicated to Mark and his wife "for their support which was nothing short of a Miracle in a time of Dire Straits." The album ends with the ballad "Storybook Love", the theme from The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride (film)The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
movie. - Land of DreamsLand of DreamsLand of Dreams is a 1988 album by Randy Newman full of vignettes of his childhood in New Orleans. The most well-known song on the album is "It's Money That Matters", which rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for two weeks, to become Newman's only number one hit on any U.S...
(1988) by Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
. The album includes the single "It's Money that Matters", which unabashedly revisits the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing". - The Sailor's Revenge (2011) by Bap KennedyBap KennedyMartin "Bap" Kennedy is a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland and older brother of singer Brian Kennedy. He is noted for writing the song "Moonlight Kiss" which was on the soundtrack for the film Serendipity .Kennedy was in a successful band, Energy Orchard for many years and has...
. As of October 2011, the album is still unreleased.
Additional albums
The following additional albums contain guitar performances or guest appearances by Mark Knopfler.- The Booze BrothersThe Booze BrothersThe Booze Brothers, featuring Mark Knopfler & Dave Edmunds, is the second album released by Brewers Droop, an English blues band. Although most of the tracks were recorded back in 1973 the album was only released in 1989 when it was discovered that the album had involved the renowned...
by Brewers Droop (1973) - Slow Train ComingSlow Train ComingSlow Train Coming is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 19th studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1979.It was the artist's first effort since becoming a born-again Christian, and all of the songs either express his strong personal faith, or stress the importance of Christian teachings...
by Bob Dylan (1979) - Sandy McLelland & the Backline by Sandy McLelland (1979)
- GauchoGaucho (album)Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American Jazz rock band Steely Dan, released in 1980. The sessions for Gaucho represented the peak of Steely Dan's recording studio perfectionism and obsessive recording techniques...
by Steely DanSteely DanSteely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
(1980) - Solo in SohoSolo in SohoSolo in Soho is the first solo album by Philip Lynott, released while he was still in Thin Lizzy. Current and former Lizzy members guested on the album including Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Snowy White, and Gary Moore. Brian Robertson also contributed to the writing of Girls.-Guest musicians:Dire...
by Phil LynottPhil LynottPhilip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
(1980) - The Philip Lynott AlbumThe Philip Lynott AlbumThe Philip Lynott Album is the second solo album by Philip Lynott, released in 1982.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Philip Lynott, except where indicated.# "Fatalistic Attitude" The Philip Lynott Album is the second solo album by Philip Lynott, released in 1982.-Track listing:All tracks...
by Phil Lynott (1982) - Beautiful VisionBeautiful VisionBeautiful Vision is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released February 1982 by Warner Bros. Records in the US and Mercury Records in the UK. As with many of Morrison's recordings, spirituality is a major theme and some of the songs are based on the teachings of...
by Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
(1982) - Phil Everly by Phil Everly (1983)
- Love Over and OverLove Over and OverLove Over and Over is a 1982 album by Kate and Anna McGarrigle.Following this album, the McGarrigles did not release an album of new material until Heartbeats Accelerating in 1990.-Side One:#"Move Over Moon" – 3:11 - Kate...
by Kate and Anna McGarrigleKate and Anna McGarrigleKate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...
(1983) - Climate of HunterClimate of HunterClimate of Hunter is the eleventh studio album by the American solo artist Scott Walker. It was released in March 1984 and reached number 60 on the UK Albums Chart. It includes the single "Track Three". It was also to be his only album of the 1980s....
by Scott WalkerScott Walker (singer)Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
(1984) - Never Told a SoulNever Told a SoulNever Told a Soul is the first solo album by John Illsley, a founding member of Dire Straits.-Track listing:#"Boy with Chinese Eyes"#"The Night Café"#"Never Told a Soul"#"Jimmy on the Central Line"#"Northern Land"#"Another Alibi"...
by John IllsleyJohn IllsleyJohn Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed rock band, Dire Straits...
(1984) - The Rock Connection by Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
(1984) - Boys and Girls by Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
(1985) - Stay TunedStay Tuned (Chet Atkins album)Stay Tuned is an album by Chet Atkins on his new label Columbia after recording for RCA since the 50's. Chester's guests include Larry Carlton, George Benson, Mark Knopfler, Steve Lukather, Earl Klugh, Boots Randolph, David Hungate, Dean Parks and Mark O'Connor."Cosmic Square Dance" won the 1985...
BY Chet Atkins (1985) - Break Every RuleBreak Every RuleBreak Every Rule is the sixth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Capitol Records in 1986.-Overview:The album's predecessor, Private Dancer, set high commercial standards, yet Break Every Rule sold very well worldwide. It reached #4 on the Billboard 200, #2 on the UK albums chart and #1 in...
by Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
(1986) - ...Nothing Like the Sun...Nothing Like the Sun…Nothing Like the Sun is a 1987 album by Sting. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet #130 , which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon"...
by Sting (1987) - Primitive DancePrimitive DancePrimitive Dance is a 1987 album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his fifth solo album. The song "The Awakening" features the vocals of Irish singer Moya Brennan.-Track listing:#Steal Your Heart Away - 5:45#The Soul Commotion - 3:39...
by Paul Brady (1987) - Sails by Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
(1987) - Soldier of Fortune by Thin LizzyThin LizzyThin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
(1987) - C.G.P.C.G.P.C.G.P. is an album by Chet Atkins. It was released in 1988 by Columbia Records. The initials in the title refer to the Atkins-coined title "Certified Guitar Player", a moniker he assigned not only to himself but other guitarists he admired and felt contributed to the legacy of guitar playing.Atkins...
by Chet Atkins (1988) - Down in the GrooveDown in the GrooveDown in the Groove is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 25th studio album, released by Columbia Records in May 1988.A highly collaborative effort, it was Dylan's second consecutive album to receive almost unanimous negative reviews...
by Bob Dylan (1988) - Glass by John Illsley (1988)
- Shouting Stage by Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
(1988) - Foreign AffairForeign Affair-B-sides:-Personnel:* Tina Turner - lead vocals* Tony Joe White - guitar, harmonica, synthesizers* Dan Hartman - guitar, keyboards* Eddie Martinez - guitar* Neil Taylor - guitar* James Ralston - guitar* Gene Black - guitar* Pat Thrall - guitar...
by Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
(1989) - River of TimeRiver of TimeRiver of Time is the title of a studio album released by RCA Records in 1989 by the American country music duo The Judds. It features the singles "Young Love ," "Let Me Tell You About Love," "One Man Woman" and "Guardian Angel." While the first two singles reached #1 on the country charts, the...
by The JuddsThe JuddsThe Judds were an American country music duo composed of Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna Judd. Signed to RCA Records in 1983, the duo released six studio albums between then and 1991. One of the most successful acts in country music history, The Judds won five Grammy Awards for Best Country...
(1989) - Brendan Croker & the Five O'Clock Shadows by Brendan CrokerBrendan CrokerBrendan Croker is a musician from Leeds who has recorded albums under his own name and with occasional backing band The Five O'Clock Shadows. He was also a member of The Notting Hillbillies...
(1989) - Hell to Pay by Jeff HealeyJeff HealeyNorman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
(1990) - Knebworth: The Album by Various Artists (1990)
- Damn Right, I've Got the BluesDamn Right, I've Got the BluesDamn Right, I've Got the Blues is a studio album by Blues guitarist Buddy Guy. The album has been described as Guy's commercial comeback album after limited recording for 10 years.- Track listing :# "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" 4:29...
by Buddy GuyBuddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
(1991) - The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 by Bob Dylan (1991)
- Honky Tonk Demos by Various Artists (1991)
- Country Rockers by Various Artists (1992)
- Dulcimer Sessions by David SchnauferDavid SchnauferDavid Schnaufer was an American folk musician. He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer....
(1992) - Ain't I a Woman by Rory BlockRory Block-Festival appearances:*Long Beach Blues Festival - 1993*San Francisco Blues Festival - 1999*Notodden Blues Festival - 2006-See also:*List of blues musicians*List of contemporary blues musicians*List of Austin City Limits performers-External links:****...
(1992) - Cookin' with the Blues by Various Artists (1992)
- Citizen Steely DanCitizen Steely DanCitizen Steely Dan is a four-CD boxed set musical album by Steely Dan, released in 1993. The set is a collection of all of Steely Dan's albums in chronological order, and also contains a non-LP single , a non-LP B-side , a rare compilation track , and a previously unreleased demo of "Everyone's...
by Steely Dan (1993) - Heartbeat by Hank MarvinHank MarvinHank Brian Marvin is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard...
(1993) - Southwestern Cookin by Various Artists (1994)
- Flyer by Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
(1994) - Bradley Barn SessionsBradley Barn Sessions-Promotion:An hour-long documentary-style special was filmed in late 1994 to promote this duet album. It aired in 1995 on The Nashville Network. Among the guests were the duet partners on this project; the record's two producers, Tony Brown and Brian Ahern; plus Owen Bradley, the owner of Bradley's...
by George JonesGeorge JonesGeorge Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
(1994) - Read My LicksRead My LicksRead My Licks is a recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins.David Hungate and Chet again co-produce with a number of guest musicians. Suzy Bogguss contributes a lead vocal on "After You've Gone". She and Chet released a duet album the same year...
by Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
(1994) - Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 by Weird Al Yankovic (1994)
- Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander by Various Artists (1994)
- Long Black VeilThe Long Black Veil (album)The Long Black Veil is an album by the traditional Irish folk band The Chieftains. Released in 1995, it is one of the most popular and best selling albums by the band. It reached number 17 in the album charts. The band teamed up with well-known musicians such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones...
by The ChieftainsThe ChieftainsThe Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
(1995) - Confessin' the Blues by Various Artists (1995)
- The Way I ShouldThe Way I ShouldThe Way I Should is the third album released by singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.Guests include guitarist Mark Knopfler and Delbert McClinton, who duets with DeMent on "Trouble".-Track listing:...
by Iris DeMentIris DeMentIris DeMent is an American singer and songwriter. DeMent's musical style encompasses the genres country and folk music.-Early life:...
(1996) - ParadiseParadise (John Anderson album)Paradise is the sixteenth studio album of country music artist John Anderson. It was released in 1996 under the BNA Records label. The album produced the singles: "Paradise" , which peaked at 26 on United States Country charts and 21 on Canadian charts, "Long Hard Lesson Learned", which peaked at...
by John AndersonJohn Anderson (musician)John David Anderson is an American country music artist with a successful career that has lasted more than 30 years...
(1996) - Twang!: A Tribute to Hank Marvin & the Shadows by Various Artists (1996)
- Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly) by Various Artists (1996)
- Pickin' the Hits by Chet Atkins (1997)
- Nothin' but the TaillightsNothin' but the TaillightsNothin' but the Taillights is a 1997 album by country singer Clint Black. Black co-wrote many of the songs with others and played much of the guitar himself for this album....
by Clint BlackClint BlackClint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
(1997) - Blues Legends by Various Artists (1997)
- Closing In on the FireClosing in on the FireClosing In on the Fire is an album by Waylon Jennings, released on the small Ark 21 Records label on June 16, 1998. It features contributions from several celebrities associated with both country and rock music...
by Waylon JenningsWaylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
(1998) - Guilty: 30 Years of Randy NewmanGuilty: 30 Years of Randy NewmanGuilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman is a four-disc box set released in November 1998 that chronicles the first three decades of singer songwriter Randy Newman's musical career.-Disc One:#"Love Story "#"Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad"#"Cowboy"...
by Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
(1998) - Man to Woman: Men of Note Sing for a Cause by Various Artists (1998)
- Celtic Christmas, Vol. 4 by Various Artists (1998)
- Tribute to Tradition by Various Artists (1998)
- Austin Sessions by Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
(1999) - Another WorldAnother World (Gerry Rafferty album)Another World is the ninth and final studio album by Gerry Rafferty. The album was released in 2000 on the Icon Music label to good reviews. It was re-released in 2003 on the Hypertension label with a slightly amended track order, and with "La Fenetre" replaced by "Keep It To Yourself", the latter...
by Gerry RaffertyGerry RaffertyGerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
(2000) - Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story 1972-1980 by Steely Dan (2000)
- Prince's Trust 10th Anniversary Birthday Party by Various Artists (2000)
- Guitar Heroes by Various Artists (2001)
- Singles Collection by Hank Marvin (2001)
- Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute by Various Artists (2001)
- Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records by Various Artists (2001)
- Buried Treasures, Vol. 3 by LindisfarneLindisfarne (band)Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 and fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning with an even stronger sense of fun...
(2001) - HumanHuman (Rod Stewart album)Human is a studio album released by Rod Stewart on March 12, 2001 . It was Rod's nineteenth studio album and first, and only release, on Atlantic Records , a sister label to his previous label Warner Bros. Records...
by Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
(2001) - Small World Big Band by Jools HollandJools HollandJulian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
(2001) - Seminole WindSeminole WindSeminole Wind is a studio album released in 1992 by American country music artist John Anderson. This is also known as his comeback album. It features the singles "Straight Tequila Night", "Let Go of the Stone", "When It Comes to You", and the title track, all of which reached the country top ten,...
by John AndersonJohn Anderson (musician)John David Anderson is an American country music artist with a successful career that has lasted more than 30 years...
(1992) - Chet Picks on the GrammysChet Picks on the GrammysChet Picks on the Grammys is a compilation recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins. The 13 tracks are all recordings of songs that won Grammy awards from 1967 to 1996...
by Chet Atkins (2002) - Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues by Jools Holland (2002)
- RCA Country Legends by John Anderson (2002)
- Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, AngelsVagabonds, Kings, Warriors, AngelsVagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels is a 2002 4-disc set by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, which also contains a booklet chronicling the life of the band and music in some detail.-Track listing:Disc 1#"The Farmer"...
by Thin Lizzy (2002) - Parallel Tracks by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (2003)
- Double Shot Rocks by Alan Merrill (2003)
- Deja Vu (All Over Again)Deja Vu (All Over Again)Deja Vu is a 2004 album by John Fogerty. It was released after the lapse of 7 years from previous studio album Blue Moon Swamp...
by John FogertyJohn FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
(2004) - Is It Rolling Bob? A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan (2004)
- Very Best of Celtic Christmas by Various Artists (2004)
- Guitar Ballads: Over 2 Hours of Relaxing Classics by Hank Marvin (2004)
- B. B. King & Friends: 80 by B.B. King (2005, guest appearance)
- Is It Rolling Bob? Dub Versions by Various Artists (2005)
- Just for a Thrill by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings (2005)
- 36 Classic Guitar Favourites by Hank Marvin (2005)
- Sea Fever by William Topley (2005)
- Prairie Home Companion Duets by Various Artists (2006)
- East to West by Paul Burch (2006)
- Take the Weather with You by Jimmy BuffettJimmy BuffettJames William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
(2006) - Uncovered by Tony Joe White (2006)
- Timeless by Various Artists (2007)
- After Midnight Live by Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
(2007) - Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten GemsSongbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten GemsSongbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems is the name of a 2007 box set of songs personally selected by Emmylou Harris: "I've selected not greatest hits, but personal favorites: that, with a few exceptions-have never appeared on any other compilations, but were important gems in the string of pearls...
by Emmylou Harris (2007) - ...Earth to the Dandy Warhols...Earth to The Dandy Warhols...Earth to the Dandy Warhols... is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, released for download and streaming play on 19 May 2008, with the CD version of the album released on 18 August 2008...
by The Dandy WarholsThe Dandy WarholsThe Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
(2008, dobro) - Burning Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets by George JonesGeorge JonesGeorge Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
(2008) - From the ReachFrom the ReachFrom the Reach is the 9th studio album from Sonny Landreth. Released on May 20, 2008, it is his first album to be released under his own label Landfall Records. The album features appearances by Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Vince Gill, Eric Johnson, Dr...
by Sonny LandrethSonny LandrethSonny Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, but soon after, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Lafayette, Louisiana...
(2008, guest appearance) - Legacy, Vol. 1 by Jeff Healey (2009, guest appearance)
- Life Goes On by Gerry Rafferty (2009)
- Greatest and Latest: Just a Thrill and Live by Bill Wyman (2009)
- The Secret Policeman's BallsThe Secret Policeman's Balls (DVD box set)The Secret Policeman's Balls is a 3-disc DVD box set released by Shout! Factory in the USA and Canada on 27 January 2009. The discs comprise comedic and musical performances given at a series of fund-raising events for Amnesty International known collectively as The Secret Policeman's Balls...
by Various Artists (2009) - Live At Knebworth by Various Artists (2010)
- Streets of Heaven by John Illsley (2010)
- Just Across the RiverJust Across the RiverJust Across The River is American songwriter Jimmy Webb's twelfth album, released in 2010.-Track listing:# "Oklahoma Nights" 3:24# "Wichita Lineman" 4:15...
by Jimmy WebbJimmy WebbJimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
(2010, guest appearance) - Mercury by Pieta BrownPieta BrownPieta Brown is an American musician and singer-songwriter who has released four critically acclaimed albums and three EPs in the last decade. She has performed with artists such as Mark Knopfler, John Prine, Amos Lee and Calexico.-Early life:...
(2011) - Gathering by Diane SchuurDiane SchuurDiane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
(2011) - Freak FlagFreak FlagFreak Flag is an album by American folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown, released in 2011.-Reception:Music critic Mark Deming wrote in his Allmusic "... these songs find him very much in his element, marrying sly but heartfelt vocals to slinky melodies that split the difference between folky...
by Greg Brown (2011) - Back Pages by AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
(2011)