Mark Knopfler

With his fleet, Chet Atkins-influenced fingerpicking style, Mark Knopfler gave rock a mighty guitar hero in the New Wave era when those were in short supply. As Dire Straits’ main driver, he combined roots rock, vivid storytelling, and tons of tasty solos, making his band one of the world’s biggest. Born in Glasgow in 1949, Knopfler grew up in Northumberland, England, and went through a long string of bands in the ’60s and ’70s before starting Dire Straits in 1977. The band’s 1978 debut single, “Sultans of Swing,” became an international smash, propelling the members to a level of stardom they sustained until their mid-’90s dissolution. Knopfler began his solo career with 1996’s Golden Heart, leaning into a subtler, folkier sound that saw him through more records on his own than he ever made with Dire Straits. His sideline as film-score composer and performer began with 1983’s acclaimed Local Hero, continuing for decades and lending Knopfler’s immediately identifiable guitar style the spotlight.