"I STILL STOP AND LOOK in a guitar shop window when I pass one on the street. I can't walk past it," Knopfler confesses via Zoom from his home in London. "And all the clichés - nose up against the glass, that whole thing. I suppose there were a lot of years where, instead of music being music and songs being a dream a kid's dream - it became work. It becomes your life. And I'm not alone there.
"So I have to try hard to keep it 'teenage' to stay the kid about it. It's an endlessly fascinating thing to be part of. And it goes on. History goes on."
2016 GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP MARK KNOPFLER '58 LES PAUL STANDARD PROTOTYPE
This is the first prototype of the guitar based on Knopfler's original 1958 'Burst, which remains in his keeping. It was used to record "Janine" on One Deep River and to perform "Money for Nothing" and "Going Home" on tour in 2019.
And this year Knopfler, now 74 and more than 45 years onward from his first album with Dire Straits, is adding a few chapters to his history.
There was his January guitar auction, a somewhat shocking sale of 123 instruments through Christie's that netted more than $11 million, including $100,000-plus for 28 of them and a record $876,000 for a 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard with a sunburst finish. That was followed by a new version of his 1983 film composition "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero," which Knopfler and longtime wingman Guy Fletcher turned into a benefit single for Teenager Cancer Trust in the U.K. and Teen Cancer America, using a who's-who roster of guitar-playing mates and other all-stars, including what is thought to be the final recording by the late Jeff Beck.
This story is from the June 2024 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2024 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
'I Play Less Notes These Days, but They All Mean a Lot More'
On Broken, Walter Trout packs his licks for maximum impact as he testifies to the hope that can save our divided world.
Steel of a Deal
Jerry Byrd’s Steel Guitar Favorites packs a heap of American styles in one outstanding disc.
The Knockoff That Became a Knockout
Forced to stop copying U.S. guitars, Ibanez launched the all-original Artist line and took America by storm.
UNCOMMON FOLK
He grew up in a folk music haven. As he celebrates his latest album, Wide Open Light, Ben Harper shares sights and memories of his childhood home.
WILD SIDE
After Lou Reed's Berlin concept album bombed, guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner helped him get his groove back. The result was Rock 'n' Roll Animal, the live classic that redeemed his spirit and saved his career.
'THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF OUR BAND IS TWO GUITARS'
Sleater-Kinney were making bass-less records long before the White Stripes and the Black Keys came along. Says co-leader Carrie Brownstein, \"The power comes from the conversation the guitars are having with each other.\"
YOUR INFLUENCES STICK WITH YOU
Scott Henderson spent lockdown training his ears and building improv skills. As Karnevel! shows, his jazz chops flourished, but his blues-rock roots remain as strong as ever.
EYE ON THE PRIZE
Erstwhile blues-rocker Hannah Wicklund finds her true self with an album of songs she calls the most authentic I’ve ever written.”
TIP SHEET
Think effects are a crutch? Reeves Gabrels has a few choice words and good advice) for you.
WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
As he releases One Deep River, Mark Knopfler reflects on the guitars he's loved, the music that keeps his passion youthful... and how he'd like a do-over on that Dire Straits Rock Hall induction.