Like many British musicians, Mark Knopfler grew up appreciating and fascinating the rebels across the pond in America. Before Dire Straits and the success of “Sultans of Swing” in 1977, Knopfler was influenced by a wide variety of American artists including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, JJ Cale, and Chet Atkins.
In the summer of 1976, he went on vacation to the United States. According to the unauthorized biography of Myles Palmer, Knopfler stayed with friends, talked to strangers, and drenched himself in excess. It was during this time that he was building the confidence to leave his work as a teacher and journalist behind and pursue music in an important way.
While most of the songs on Dire Straits’ first three albums were heavily influenced by their experiences in the UK, their American fascination began to manifest itself on the 1982 album “Love Over Gold”. The title track, “Telegraph Road “was written during the band’s first US tour, and the song was written about the birth and eventual death of an American city. The Telegraph Road in question is apparently somewhere in Michigan, which Knopfler observed from a seat on a tour bus.
As Dire Straits’ fame and stardom waned with the success of “Brothers in Arms,” Mark returned to his earlier interests in country and country-blues music. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Knopfler was fortunate enough to perform with his hero, Chet Akins, during a Nashville television special. Their special friendship and the mutual admiration partnership of two people continued until Atkins’ death in 2001. Knopfler’s hobby band, The Notting Hillbillies, was 100% pure country and blues music.
Dire Straits’ latest album “On Every Street” featured several very obvious odes to the US In the title track (“fireworks over Liberty explode in heat” influenced by their experiences in New York) and ” The planet of New Orleans … “” Calling Elvis “continues to trace Knopfler’s fascination with the King. One of Nashville’s brightest stars at the time, singer-songwriter Vince Gill, actually worked as a session musician for the album.
His second solo album, 2000’s “Sailing to Philadelphia,” pushed England into the background with just a few homemade tunes. Instead, “Do America”, “Speedway at Nazareth”, “The Sands of Nevada”, “Prairie Wedding” and the title track were drenched in Americana. It is an appreciation and awe of the country that Knopfler brings to music; it is seldom derogatory. 2004’s “Shangri-La” brought tributes to famous (infamous?) Americans like McDonalds founder Ray Kroc, boxer Sonny Liston, and Elvis again.
Mark Knopfler’s most recent duet album with Emmylou Harris has practically left England behind and replaced it with a longing for and enjoyment of the country that comes with age and experiences. Knopfler has been widely quoted as saying that the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in New York influenced several of the songs on the album. It’s no coincidence that your touring band for the past ten years has featured some of the most successful session musicians from, where else? – Nashville, Tennessee.