Look up Chet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Chet may refer to:

• Chet (month), a first month of the Nanakshahi calendar
• Chet (Chet Atkins album), 1967
• Chet (Chet Baker album), 1959
• Chet (given name), a masculine given name
• Heth or Chet, the eighth letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet
• River Chet, a small river in South Norfolk, England
• Cheţ, a village in Marghita city, Bihor County, Romania
• CHET-FM
• CHET-TV

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Chet Baker
Background information
Birth name	Chesney Henry Baker, Jr.
Born	(1929-12-23)December 23, 1929 Yale, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	May 13, 1988(1988-05-13) (aged 58) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres	West Coast Jazz
Occupations	Trumpeter Jazz singer
Instruments	Trumpet Vocals Flugelhorn Piano[1]
Years active	1949–1988[2]
Associated acts	Gerry Mulligan Art Pepper

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.

In the 1950s, Baker earned much attention and critical praise, particularly for albums featuring his vocals, such as Chet Baker Sings. Jazz historian David Gelly descibed the promise of Baker's early career as seemingly representing "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one."^[3] However, his "well-publicized drug habit"^[4] also drove his notoriety and fame, as Baker was in-and-out of jail for much of his life before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.

Baker died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.^[5]

Biography[link]

Early days[link]

Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma; his father was a professional guitar player. Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father introduced him to brass instruments with a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large.

Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was posted to Berlin where he joined the 298th Army band. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out in his second year, however, re-enlisting in the army in 1950. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician.

Career breakthrough[link]

Baker's earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso's band, and also with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, though he earned much more renown in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.^[6]

In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine", featuring a memorable Baker solo, was a major hit, and became a song with which Baker was intimately associated.

The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. In 1956, Pacific Jazz released Chet Baker Sings, a record that increased his profile but alienated traditional jazz fans; he would continue to sing throughout his career. Baker formed quartets with Russ Freeman in 1953-54 with bassists Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond and drummers Shelly Manne, Larry Bunker, and Bob Neel. The quartet was successful in their three live sets in 1954. In that year, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll. Because of his chiseled features, Hollywood studios approached Baker and he made his acting debut in the film Hell's Horizon, released in the fall of 1955. He declined an offer of a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the West Coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. Baker's 1956 recording, released for the first time in its entirety in 1989 as The Route, with Art Pepper helped further the West Coast jazz sound and became a staple of cool jazz.

Drug addiction and decline[link]

Baker was a heroin user from the 1950s for the remainder of his life, and eventually saw his musical career decline as a result. At times, Baker pawned his instruments for money to maintain his drug habit. In the early 1960s, he served more than a year in prison in Italy on drug charges; he was later expelled from both West Germany and the UK for drug-related offenses. Baker was eventually deported from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. He settled in Milpitas in northern California where he played in San Jose and San Francisco between short jail terms served for prescription fraud.^[5]

In 1966, Baker was savagely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure. He stated in the film Let's Get Lost that an acquaintance attempted to rob him one night but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of several men who chased him. He landed finally in a car where he was surrounded. Instead of rescuing him, the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street where the chase by his attackers continued, and subsequently, he was beaten to the point that his teeth, never in good condition to begin with, were knocked out, leaving him without the ability to play his horn. He took odd jobs, among them pumping gas. Meanwhile he was fitted for dentures and worked on his embouchure. Three months later he got a gig in New York.

Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn and recorded music that could mostly be classified as West Coast jazz.^[5]

Comeback and later career[link]

After developing a new embouchure resulting from dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career, relocating to New York City and began performing and recording again, notably with guitarist Jim Hall. Later in the seventies, Baker returned to Europe where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra, who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.

From 1978 until his death in 1988, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once per year for a few performance dates.

Chet Baker with Stan Getz in 1983

This was Baker's most prolific era as a recording artist. However, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well-received by critics, who maintain that the period was one of Baker's most mature and rewarding. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz (1978–80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983–85). He also toured with saxophonist Stan Getz during this period.

In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album Punch the Clock. The song was a top 40 hit in the UK, and exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Baker often featured Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Is Gone") in his live sets, and recorded the song on Let's Get Lost, a documentary film about his life.

The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was; but his trumpet playing was alert, lively and inspired. Fans and critics alike agree that the live album Chet Baker in Tokyo, recorded less than a year before his death and released posthumously, ranks among Baker's very best. "Silent Nights", another critically acclaimed release, and Baker's only recording of Christmas music, was recorded with Christopher Mason in New Orleans in 1986 and released in 1987.

Chet Baker's compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Freeway", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perderò" ("I Know I Will Lose You"), "Il Mio Domani" ("My Tomorrow"), "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna" ("Tune on a Moon Beam"), "The Route", "Skidadidlin'", "New Morning Blues", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues".

Death[link]

At about 3 am on May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on Prins Hendrikkade, near Zeedijk, on the street below his second-story room (Room 210) of Hotel Prins Hendrik in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident.

Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California, USA. A plaque outside the Hotel Prins Hendrik now memorializes him.

Legacy[link]

Plaque in Amsterdam

Jeroen de Valk has written a biography of Baker which is available in several languages: Chet Baker: His Life and Music is the English translation, Chet Baker: Herinneringen aan een lyrisch trompettist (remembrances of a lyrical trumpet player) is the Dutch edition (updated and expanded in 2007),^[7] and it is also published in Japan and Germany. James Gavin has also written a biography: Deep In A Dream — The Long Night of Chet Baker. Baker's "lost memoirs" are available in the book As Though I Had Wings, which includes an introduction by Carol Baker.^[5]

Baker was immortalized by the photographer William Claxton in his book Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker. An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary about Baker, Let's Get Lost, portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s, but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber, was shot in black-and-white and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), associates and women friends, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life, and with interviews with Baker from his last years.

Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project, written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001 to much acclaim.^[8] The musical play Chet Baker - Speedball, explores aspects of his life and music, and was premiered in London at the Oval House Theatre in February 2007, with further development of the script and performances leading to its revival at the 606 Club in the London Jazz Festival of November 2007.

Baker was reportedly the inspiration for the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner in the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals. He was also the inspiration for the lead character in Fabrizio Federico's film Black Biscuit. Another film, to be titled Prince of Cool, about Baker's life, was cancelled as of January 2008.^[9]

The song "Chet Baker", which appears on the 2007 CD Wally Page and Johnny Mulhern: Live at the Annesley House, by Irish folk singer-songwriter Wally Page, describes the end of Baker's life in Amsterdam.

Honors[link]

• In 1987 he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
• In 1989 he was elected to Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame by that magazine's Critics Poll.
• In 1991 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
• In 2005 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and the Oklahoma House of Representatives proclaimed July 2 as “Chet Baker Day”.
• In 2007 Mayor of the City of Tulsa Kathy Taylor proclaimed December 23 as “Chet Baker Day”.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chet Baker Foundation
• Chet Baker at the Internet Movie Database
• Chet Baker at Find a Grave
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Baker, Chet

Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), 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 Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul, brought him admirers within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Atkins produced records for The Browns, Porter Wagoner, Norma Jean, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings and many others.

Among many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Biography[link]

Childhood and early life[link]

Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain. His parents divorced when he was six, after which he was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of three boys and a girl. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores for a guitar when he was nine.^[1] He stated in his 1974 autobiography, "We were so poor and everybody around us was so poor that it was the forties before anyone even knew there had been a depression." Forced to relocate to Fortson, Georgia, to live with his father because of a critical asthma condition, Atkins was a sensitive youth who made music his obsession. Because of his illness, he was forced to sleep in a straight-back chair in order to breathe comfortably. On those nights, he would play his guitar until he fell asleep holding it, a habit which lasted his whole life.^[2] While living in Fortson, he attended historic Mountain Hill School. He would return in the 1990s to play a series of charity concerts to save the school from demolition.^{[citation needed]}

Stories have been told about the very young Chet who, when a friend or relative would come to visit, and if that person played a guitar, would crowd in and put his ear so very close to the instrument that it became difficult for that person to play.^[2]

Atkins became an accomplished guitarist while he was in high school.^[1] He would use the restroom in the school to practice, because it gave better acoustics.^[3][4] His first guitar had a nail for a nut and was so bowed that only the first few frets could be used.^[5] He later purchased a semi-acoustic electric guitar and amp, but he had to travel many miles to find an electrical outlet since his home had no electricity.^[6]

Later in life he lightheartedly gave himself (along with John Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Wariner and Jerry Reed) the honorary degree CGP, standing for "Certified Guitar Player".^[5] In 2011 Daughter Merle Atkins Russell bestowed the CGP degree upon long time sideman Paul Yandell. She then declared no more CGP's would be allowed by the Atkins estate.^{[citation needed]}

His half-brother Jim was a successful guitarist who worked with the Les Paul Trio in New York.^[2]

Atkins did not have a strong style of his own until 1939 when (while still living in Georgia) he heard Merle Travis picking over WLW radio.^[2][7] This early influence dramatically shaped his unique playing style. Whereas Travis's right hand used his index finger for the melody and thumb for bass notes, Atkins expanded his right hand style to include picking with his first three fingers, with the thumb on bass.

Chet Atkins was a Ham Radio General class licensee. Formerly using the call-sign, WA4CZD, he obtained the vanity call sign W4CGP in 1998 to reflect the C.G.P. name. He was an ARRL member.^[8]

Early musical career[link]

After dropping out of high school in 1942, Atkins landed a job at WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville. There he played fiddle and guitar with singer Bill Carlisle and comic Archie Campbell as well as becoming a member of the station's Dixieland Swingsters, a small swing instrumental combo. After three years, he moved to WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had formerly worked.

After six months he moved to Raleigh and worked with Johnnie and Jack before heading for Richmond, Virginia, where he performed with Sunshine Sue Workman. Atkins's shy personality worked against him, as did the fact that his sophisticated style led many to doubt he was truly "country." He was fired often but was soon able to land another job at another radio station due to his unique playing ability.^[2] Atkins and Jethro Burns of Homer and Jethro married twin sisters, Leona and Lois Johnson who sang as Laverne and Fern Johnson: the Johnson Sisters. Leona Atkins outlived Atkins by eight years, dying in 2009 at the age of 85.^[9]

Traveling to Chicago, Atkins auditioned for Red Foley, who was leaving his star position on WLS-AM's National Barn Dance to join the Grand Ole Opry.^[10] Atkins made his first appearance at the Opry in 1946 as a member of Foley's band. He also recorded a single for Nashville-based Bullet Records that year. That single, "Guitar Blues", was fairly progressive, including as it did, a clarinet solo by Nashville dance band musician Dutch McMillan with Owen Bradley on piano. He had a solo spot on the Opry; but when that was cut, Atkins moved on to KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri. Despite the support of executive Si Siman, however, he soon was fired for not sounding "country enough."^[2]

Signing with RCA Victor[link]

While working with a Western band in Denver, Colorado, Atkins came to the attention of RCA Victor. Siman had been encouraging Steve Sholes to sign Atkins, as his style (with the success of Merle Travis as a hit recording artist) was suddenly in vogue. Sholes, A&R director of country music at RCA, tracked Atkins down to Denver.

He made his first RCA recordings in Chicago in 1947. They did not sell. He did some studio work for RCA that year but had relocated to Knoxville again where he worked with Homer and Jethro on WNOX's new Saturday night radio show The Tennessee Barn Dance and the popular Midday Merry Go Round.

In 1949 he left WNOX to join Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters back on KWTO. This incarnation of the old Carter Family featured Maybelle Carter and daughters June, Helen and Anita. Their work soon attracted attention from the Grand Ole Opry. The group relocated to Nashville in mid-1950. Atkins began working on recording sessions, performing on WSM-AM and the Opry.^[2]

While he hadn't yet had a hit record on RCA his stature was growing. He began assisting Sholes as a Session Leader when the New York–based producer needed help organizing Nashville sessions for RCA artists. Atkins's first hit single was "Mr. Sandman", followed by "Silver Bell", which he did as a duet with Hank Snow. His albums also became more popular, and he was featured on ABC-TV's The Eddy Arnold Show during the summer of 1956; as well as on Country Music Jubilee in 1957 and 58 (by then renamed Jubilee USA).

Atkins's Gretsch Country Gentleman, model G6122-1962

In addition to recording, Atkins became a design consultant for Gretsch, who manufactured a popular Chet Atkins line of electric guitars from 1955–1980. Atkins also became manager of RCA's Nashville studio, eventually inspiring and seeing the completion of the legendary RCA Studio B, the first studio built specifically for the purpose of recording on the now-famous Music Row.^[5]

Performer and producer[link]

When Sholes took over pop production in 1957—a result of his success with Elvis Presley—he put Atkins in charge of RCA's Nashville division. With country music record sales declining as rock and roll took over, Atkins and Bob Ferguson took their cue from Owen Bradley and eliminated fiddles and steel guitar as a means of making country singers appeal to pop fans. This became known as the Nashville sound which Atkins said was a label created by the media attached to a style of recording done during that period to keep country (and their jobs) viable.

Atkins used the Jordanaires and a rhythm section on hits like Jim Reeves' "Four Walls" and "He'll Have to Go"^[11] and Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Blue Blue Day".^[12] The once rare phenomenon of having a country hit cross over to pop success became more common. He and Bradley had essentially put the producer in the driver's seat, guiding an artist's choice of material and the musical background.

Atkins made his own records, which usually visited pop standards and jazz, in a sophisticated home studio, often recording the rhythm tracks at RCA but adding his solo parts at home, refining the tracks until the results satisfied him.^[5] Guitarists of all styles came to admire various Atkins albums for their unique musical ideas and in some cases experimental electronic ideas. In this period he became known internationally as "Mister Guitar", inspiring an album named Mister Guitar, engineered by both Bob Ferris and Bill Porter, his replacement.

At the end of March 1959, Porter took over as chief engineer at RCA's Nashville studio, in the space now known as "Studio B". (At the time there was only one studio at RCA, with no letter designation.) Porter soon helped Atkins get a better reverberation sound from the studio's German effects device, an EMT plate reverb. With his golden ear, Porter found the studio's acoustics to be problematic, and he devised a set of acoustic baffles to hang from the ceiling, then selected positions for microphones based on resonant room modes. The sound of the recordings improved significantly, and the studio achieved a string of successes. The Nashville sound became more dynamic.^[13] In later years, when Bradley asked how he achieved his sound, Atkins told him "it was Porter."^[14] Porter described Atkins as respectful of musicians when recording—if someone was out of tune he would not single that person out by name. Instead, he would say something like, "we got a little tuning problem ... Everybody check and see what's going on."^[14] If that didn't work, Atkins would instruct Porter to turn the offending player down in the mix. When Porter left RCA in late 1964, Atkins said, "the sound was never the same, never as great."^[14]

Atkins's trademark "Atkins Style" of playing uses the thumb and first two—sometimes three—fingers of the right hand. He developed this style from listening to Merle Travis occasionally on a primitive radio. He was sure no one could play that articulately with just the thumb and index finger (which was exactly how Travis played) and he assumed it required the thumb and two fingers—and that was the style he pioneered and mastered.

He enjoyed jamming with fellow studio musicians which led to them being asked to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960. Although that performance was canceled due to rioting, a live recording of the group (After the Riot at Newport) was released. Atkins performed by invitation at the White House for presidents Kennedy through George H. W. Bush. Atkins was a member of the Million Dollar Band during the 1980s. He is also well known for his song "Yankee Doodle Dixie", in which he played "Yankee Doodle" and "Dixie" simultaneously, on the same guitar.

Before his mentor Sholes died in 1968, Atkins had become vice president of RCA's country division. In 1987 he told Nine-O-One Network Magazine that he was "ashamed" of his promotion: "I wanted to be known as a guitarist and I know, too, that they give you titles like that in lieu of money. So beware when they want to make you vice president."^[15] He had brought Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, Bobby Bare, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed and John Hartford to the label in the 1960s and inspired and helped countless others.^[16] He took a considerable risk during the mid-1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement sparked violence throughout the South by signing country music's first African-American singer Charley Pride, who sang rawer country than the smoother music Atkins had pioneered.

Atkins's own biggest hit single came in 1965, with "Yakety Axe", an adaptation of his friend saxophonist Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax". He rarely performed in those days, and eventually had to hire other RCA producers like Bob Ferguson and Felton Jarvis to alleviate his workload.^[5]

Later career[link]

In the 1970s, Atkins became increasingly stressed by his executive duties. He produced fewer records but could still turn out hits such as Perry Como's pop hit "And I Love You So". He recorded extensively with close friend and fellow picker Jerry Reed, who'd become a hit artist in his own right. A 1973 diagnosis of colon cancer, however, led Atkins to redefine his role at RCA, to allow others to handle administration while he went back to his first love, the guitar, often recording with Reed or even Homer & Jethro's Jethro Burns (Atkins's brother-in-law) after Homer died in 1971.^[5]

By the end of the 1970s, Atkins's time had passed as a producer. New executives at RCA had different ideas. He first retired from his position in the company, and then began to feel stifled as an artist because RCA would not let him branch out into jazz. His mid-1970s collaborations with one of his influences, Les Paul, Chester & Lester and Guitar Monsters, had already reflected that interest; Chester & Lester was one of the best-selling recordings of Atkins's career. At the same time he grew dissatisfied with the direction Gretsch (no longer family-owned) was going and withdrew his authorization for them to use his name and began designing guitars with Gibson. He left RCA in 1982 and signed with Columbia Records, for whom he produced a debut album in 1983.^[10]

Jazz had always been a strong love of his, and often in his career he was criticized by "pure" country musicians for his jazz influences. He also said on many occasions that he did not like being called a "country guitarist", insisting that he was a guitarist, period. Although he played 'by ear' and was a masterful improviser he was able to read music and even performed some classical guitar pieces. When Roger C. Field, a friend, suggested to him in 1991 that he record and perform with a female singer he did so with Suzy Bogguss.^[5]

He returned to his country roots for albums he recorded with Mark Knopfler and Jerry Reed.^[5] Knopfler had long mentioned Atkins as one of his earliest influences. Atkins also collaborated with Australian guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel. On being asked to name the ten most influential guitarists of the 20th century, he named Django Reinhardt to the first position, and also placed himself on the list.^[17]

In later years he even went back to radio, appearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio program, on American Public Media radio, even picking up a fiddle from time to time.^[5]

Legacy[link]

Atkins received numerous awards, including 14 Grammy Awards and nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards.^[10] In 1993 he was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Billboard magazine awarded him their Century Award, their "highest honor for distinguished creative achievement", in December 1997.^[18]

Atkins is notable for his broad influence. His love for numerous styles of music can be traced from his early recording of stride-pianist James P. Johnson's "Johnson Rag," all the way to the rock stylings of Eric Johnson, an invited guest on Atkins's recording sessions who, when Chet attempted to copy his influential rocker "Cliffs of Dover", led to Atkins's creation of a unique arrangement of "Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)."

Chet's recordings of "Malaguena" inspired a new generation of Flamenco guitarists; the classical guitar selections included on almost all his albums were, for many American artists working in the field today, the first classical guitar they ever heard. He recorded smooth jazz guitar still played on American airwaves today.

While he did more performing in the 1990s his health grew frail as he was diagnosed with cancer again in 1996. He died on June 30, 2001 at his home in Nashville.^[19]

Atkins was buried at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens in Nashville.^[20]

Atkins was quoted many times throughout his career, and of his own legacy he once said:

Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me.

A stretch of Interstate 185 in southwest Georgia (between LaGrange and Columbus) is named "Chet Atkins Parkway".^[21] This stretch of interstate runs through Fortson, GA where Atkins spent much of his childhood.

In 2002, Atkins was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[16] His award was presented by Marty Stuart and Brian Setzer and accepted by Atkins's grandson, Jonathan Russell. The following year, Atkins ranked No.28 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.

At the age of 13, jazz guitarist Earl Klugh was captivated watching Atkins's guitar playing on The Perry Como Show.^[22] Similarly he was an extremely big influence on Doyle Dykes. Atkins also inspired Drexl Jonez and Tommy Emmanuel.^[23]

Clint Black's album "Nothin' but the Taillights" includes the song "Ode to Chet," which includes the lines "'Cause I can win her over like Romeo did Juliet, if I can only show her I can almost pick that legato lick like Chet" and "It'll take more than Mel Bay 1, 2, & 3 if I'm ever gonna play like CGP." Atkins plays guitar on the track. At the end of the song Black and Atkins have a brief conversation.

Chet's song Jam Man is currently used in commercials for Esurance.

In 1967 a tribute song called "Chet's Tune" was produced for his birthday, with contributions by a long list of RCA/Victor artists including Eddy Arnold, Connie Smith, Jerry Reed, Willie Nelson, Hank Snow, and others. The song was written by Nashville songwriter Cy Coben, a friend of Atkins. The single reached #38 on the country charts.^[24][25]

Discography[link]

Industry awards[link]

Country Music Association

• 1967 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1968 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1969 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1981 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1982 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1983 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1984 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1985 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 1988 Instrumentalist of the Year

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

• Inducted in 1973

Grammy Awards

• 1971 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed – Me and Jerry
• 1972 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Snowbird"
• 1975 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Merle Travis – The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show
• 1976 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "The Entertainer"
• 1977 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Les Paul – Chester and Lester
• 1982 Best Country Instrumental Performance – Country After All These Years
• 1986 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler – "Cosmic Square Dance"
• 1991 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler – "So Soft, Your Goodbye"
• 1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Mark Knopfler – "Poor Boy Blues"
• 1993 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed – Sneakin' Around
• 1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award'
• 1994 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Asleep at the Wheel, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble, Marty Stuart, Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield & Vince Gill – "Red Wing"
• 1995 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Young Thing"
• 1997 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Jam Man"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• Posthumously inducted in 2002

See also[link]

Biography portal

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kienzle, Rich (1998). "Chet Atkins". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 26–7.

External links[link]

• Chet Atkins at the Country Music Hall of Fame
• Allmusic entry for Chet Atkins
• Chet Atkins Official Web site
• Bob Moore's A-Team Musicians Website
• Chet Atkins at the Internet Movie Database
• Chet Atkins Interview – Vintage Guitar magazine, June 1996(This reference no longer exists at this link – May 2011)
• Chet Atkins on the Pop Chronicles

Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler, July 2006
Background information
Birth name	Mark Freuder Knopfler
Born	(1949-08-12) 12 August 1949 (age 62) Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Origin	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres	Rock Roots rock Celtic rock Country rock Blues-rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Record producer, Film score composer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, resonator guitar
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Vertigo, Mercury, Warner
Associated acts	Dire Straits The Notting Hillbillies Chet Atkins Emmylou Harris Bob Dylan Eric Clapton Sonny Landreth
Website	MarkKnopfler.com
Notable instruments
Mark Knopfler Stratocaster Fender Telecaster Gibson Les Paul Pensa Custom MKII Steinberger GL-2

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).^[1] In addition to his work with Dire Straits and as a solo artist and composer, Knopfler has recorded and performed with many prominent musical artists, including Phil Lynott, Chet Atkins, The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Jools Holland, Sonny Landreth, and Van Morrison. He has produced albums for 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.^[2] Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.^[3][4] 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.^[5][6]

Early life (1949–1976)[link]

Mark Freuder Knopfler was born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother and Hungarian Jewish father—an architect whose anti-fascist sympathies forced him to flee from his native Hungary.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[8]

In 1968, after studying journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College,^[8][9] Knopfler was hired as a junior reporter in Leeds for the Yorkshire Evening Post.^[10] Two years later, he decided to further his studies, and went on to graduate with a degree in English at the University of Leeds.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13]

Dire Straits (1977–1995)[link]

Dire Straits' first demos were done in three sessions during 1977, with Pick Withers 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.

Mark Knopfler with Dire Straits, 1979

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,^[14] 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.

Mark Knopfler with Dire Straits, Dublin, 1981

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.^[15][16] 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^[17] 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^[8] shows was immensely successful.

After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits ceased to work together for some time, 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. Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.^[18]

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,^[19] 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",^[20] and in October 1988, a "best of" album, Money for Nothing, was released and reached number one in the United Kingdom.^[21]

In 1989 Knopfler formed The Notting Hillbillies,^[8] 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 emphasized his country music influences with his 1990s collaboration with Chet Atkins, Neck and Neck, which resulted in three Grammy awards. 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.^[22]

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.^[23] 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, 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 contributed frequently, including 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 the band should reform. Illsley said that a reunion would be "entirely up to Mark", however he also suggested that Knopfler was 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".^[24] 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".^[24]

Solo career (1996–present)[link]

Mark Knopfler in Bilbao, 2001

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.^[25] 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 Knopfler to countries such as 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.

Mark Knopfler in Hamburg, 2006

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 Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. The album was made available in two editions, as a single CD (with a grey cover) and as a 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, agreed to pay US$30,000 for its loss.^[26]

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.^[27] 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.^[28]

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 whisky as a "last show of tour" sort of joke.^[29]

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.^[30]

In 2010, Knopfler appeared on the newest Thomas Dolby release, the EP Amerikana. Knopfler performed on the track "17 Hills".^[31]

In February 2011, Knopfler began work on his next solo album, once again working with Guy Fletcher. A release date is scheduled to be announced on Monday 28 May 2012.^[32] 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.^[33]

In 2012, Knopfler covered a Bob Dylan song, "Restless Farewell", for an Amnesty International 50th Anniversary celebration record.^[34]

A new Mark Knopfler album, Privateering, is scheduled to be released on 3 September 2012. This will be Knopfler's first double album solo release and will contain 20 new songs.

Country music[link]

Mark Knopfler in Chicago with Emmylou Harris, 2006

In addition to his work in Dire Straits and solo, Mark Knopfler has made several contributions to country music. In 1988 he formed country-focused band The Notting Hillbillies,^[8] 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".

Personal life[link]

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.^[8] 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.^[19] His marriage to Salomone ended in 1993.^[22] On Valentine's Day 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.^[35] Their marriage so far has produced two daughters, Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003). The family currently lives in Chelsea.^[8]

Musical style and equipment[link]

Musical style[link]

Mark Knopfler in Amsterdam with a Schecter Stratocaster, 1981

Mark Knopfler is left-handed, but plays right-handed, and fingerpicks (using a personal variant of the clawhammer 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.^[36] 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.

Guitars[link]

Knopfler has estimated that he now owns "around 70 guitars".^[37] They include:

• Pensa Custom MKII, a custom Pensa guitar given to Knopfler by his friend Rudy Pensa in 2005^[38]
• Pensa custom-built solid body guitars, models MK-1, MK-2, and MK-80 are named in Knopfler's honour^[39]
• Red-painted (Stratocaster style) Melancon Pro Artist^[40]

• Hofner V-2 (Mark's first guitar)
• Fender Stratocasters, including a 1962 Fiesta Red rosewood neck hard tail, and a 1954 Sunburst hard tail (one of the first ever produced), which Knopfler named "Jurassic Strat"^[41]
• Gibson Les Paul Special (used in the 1970s)
• National Tricone 1928 model
• National Style O Resonator guitar 1937 model ("Romeo and Juliet"), a replica of which is available from National Resophonic Guitars
• Fender Telecaster 1952
• Schecter Telecaster and Stratocaster models (from 1980 on)
• Burns Baldwin 12-string ("Angel of Mercy" and the Get Lucky album)
• Ovation Adamas: One black and two blue burst (Mainly used in the 80's)
• Ovation Custom Legend
• Ovation Classic (Private Investigations video)
• Rickenbacker 425 (Used on Portobello Belle, later on The Ragpicker's Dream session)
• Fernandes Stratocaster (Used in studio 82-85)
• Gibson Chet Atkins (Love Over Gold album)
• Erlewine Automatic ("Industrial Disease")
• Martin Acoustics, HD-40MK, 000-40S Mark Knopfler, and 00028 ("Brothers in Arms")
• Gibson SG (Two Young Lovers, Alchemy tour)
• Gibson Les Paul 1958, 1959, and 1984 humbucker pickup models (First one used on Money for Nothing 85)
• Purple Suhr R Custom (Not really a brand) (Brothers in Arms album, "Ride Across the River" and "So far Away")
• Blonde Suhr "strat" (Live on the 85/86-tour and on the bug 92)
• Gretsch Super Chet, 7690 (Golden Heart album)
• Gretsch 6121
• Steinberger GL2 (Brothers in Arms tour)
• Beltona Electro Resonator
• Flamed Pensa, 3 models (late 1980s)
• Gibson J-45 (On Every Street album)
• Gibson Super 400 CES (On Every Street album and tour)
• Gibson L-5 CES
• Gibson ES-175
• Gibson J200 (Used by Jack Sonni in 85/86-tour)
• Gibson ES-5
• Godin L.R. Baggs (Used by Knopfler and Phil Palmer on the On Every Street tour)
• Red Pensa Suhr Prototype (On Every Street tour)
• Pensa-Suhr, black (Golden Heart album and tour)
• Ramírez Spanish Guitar (Replacement for Gibson Chet Atkins in the early 90's)
• Taylor acoustic guitars (not much information) Used live in the early 90's
• Gibson ES-335
• Danelectro Silvertone
• Gibson Southerner
• Gibson Advanced Jumbo
• Fender Jazzmaster
• Eko 700
• Teisco Spectrum, 2 models
• Danelectro 59 DC
• Fender Duo Sonic 11 (Kill to Get Crimson album)
• Gibson ES-330
• N.S. Phillips Nobby 12 (Get Lucky album)
• N.S. Phillips 14 Fret
• Monteleone Isabella
• Don Grosh Electrajet
• Gibson Dove

Effects[link]

Throughout his career Knopfler has used a wide selection of effect pedals in the studio and during live performances.^[42] Here is a list of some of them:

Amplifiers[link]

Knopfler has often used many different combinations of amplifiers and cabinets to create his desired sounds.^[43]

On the "Get Lucky" tour in 2010, Knopfler used a pair of custom built Reinhardt guitar amp heads with matching cabinets,^[44][45] and a Tone King combo in between that is used on some songs.^[46]

Honours and awards[link]

• 1983 BRIT Award for Best British Group (with Dire Straits)
• 1986 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with Dire Straits (for "Money for Nothing")
• 1986 Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year (for "Money for Nothing")
• 1986 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for "Cosmic Square Dance")
• 1986 Juno Award 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 Blues")
• 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 Neck")
• 1993 Honorary Doctor of Music from Newcastle University^[47]
• 1995 Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Leeds
• 1999 OBE^[48]
• 2001 Masiakasaurus knopfleri (a species of dinosaur) was named after him by scientists who had listened to his music while digging the fossils.^[49]
• 2003 Edison Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Music Industry, the highest award for musicians in the Netherlands^[50][51]
• 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 Sunderland^[52]
• 2007 Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album with Emmylou Harris (for "All the Roadrunning").
• 2009 Music Producers Guild Award for Best Studio (for Knopfler's British Grove Studios^[53]
• 2009 PRS for Music Heritage Award (with Dire Straits)
• 2011 Steiger Award

Knopfler's influence[link]

• Played together with Dire Straits' drummer Pick Withers on Bob Dylan's studio album Slow Train Coming, 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 Bloomfield and Robbie Robertson. Knopfler also played in and co-produced Dylan's 1983 album Infidels.
• British author and humorist Douglas Adams said about Knopfler, in his book So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: "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."^[54]
• The dinosaur species Masiakasaurus knopfleri was named after Knopfler. The palaeontologists were listening to Dire Straits recordings when they discovered the species.^[55]
• On "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Money for Nothing", "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 Hillbillies ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett"), 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 soundtrack to Local Hero is played before kick-off at Newcastle United's home matches at St James' Park.^[56]
• "Going Home" is also the theme music for John Stanley on Sydney radio station 2UE.
• According to director Rob Reiner, Knopfler agreed to write the music for Reiner's The Princess Bride on one condition: Reiner had to put the hat that he wore in This Is Spinal Tap in Princess Bride, "somewhere in evidence", as homage to the rock mockumentary. The hat makes its appearance in Princess Bride in the Grandson's (Fred Savage) bedroom.^[57]
• Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar is a fan of Mark Knopfler. They once had a joint interview on cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle's show Harsha Online.^[58]
• The 2008 stage production Celtic Thunder has covers of multiple Mark Knopfler songs. "Brothers in Arms", written by Mark Knopfler and performed originally by Dire Straits, is performed by Ryan Kelly. As well, the song "Irish Boy" (from Cal) and "Going Home" (from Local Hero) are performed together as an instrumental, entitled "Cal/Local Hero".

Discography[link]

Dire Straits albums[link]

• Dire Straits (1978)
• Communiqué (1979)
• Making Movies (1980)
• Love over Gold (1982)
• Alchemy (1984, live)
• Brothers in Arms (1985)
• Money for Nothing (1988, compilation)
• On Every Street (1991)
• On the Night (1993, live)
• Live at the BBC (1995, live)
• Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (1998, compilation)
• The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations (2005, compilation)

Solo albums[link]

• The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations (2005, compilation)
• The Trawlerman's Song EP (2005, EP)
• One Take Radio Sessions (2005, EP live)

Soundtrack albums[link]

• Local Hero (1983)
• Cal (1984)
• Comfort and Joy (1984)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
• Screenplaying (1993 compilation)
• Wag the Dog (1998)
• Metroland (1999)
• A Shot at Glory (2002)

Collaborative albums[link]

• Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time (with The Notting Hillbillies, 1990)
• Neck and Neck (with Chet Atkins, 1990)
• All the Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris, 2006)
• Real Live Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris, 2006)

Produced albums[link]

• Infidels (1983) by Bob Dylan. Although Mark disowned the reworked version of the album as released,^[77] his production is still noticeable. Left off the album, but later released on The Bootleg Series, is the critically acclaimed "Blind Willie McTell", featuring only Dylan, singing and playing piano, accompanied by Mark Knopfler on acoustic guitar.
• Knife (1984) by Aztec Camera. This Scottish indie/new wave band was mostly a vehicle for the work of Roddy Frame, much as Dire Straits only ever recorded Mark Knopfler compositions.
• Miracle (1987) by Willy DeVille. 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 Bride movie.
• Land of Dreams (1988) by Randy Newman. The album includes the single "It's Money that Matters", which unabashedly revisits the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing".
• The Sailor's Revenge (2012) by Bap Kennedy. The album includes Mark on guitar on the songs "Shimnavale", "Lonely No More", "The Right Stuff", "Please Return to Jesus", "The Sailor's Revenge", "Working Man", and "Celtic Sea". Mark also sings backing vocals on "Celtic Sea".

Additional albums[link]

The following additional albums contain guitar performances or guest appearances by Mark Knopfler.^[78]