The three guitarists who turned Mark Knopfler into a genius
Mark Knopfler’s distinctive guitar style helped Dire Straits stand out in the late 1970s, combining a clean tone, restrained delivery and fingerpicking with an energy that felt both familiar and fresh. The article argues that his precise, expressive playing—heard on songs such as ‘Sultans of Swing’, ‘Walk of Life’ and ‘Lady Writer’—drew on older musical…