Dire Straits’ Guitarist Jack Sonni Tragically Passed Away At 68

Jack Sonni, a former Dire Straits guitarist, allegedly passed away at the age of 68 from an undisclosed illness.

The group’s official X (formerly Twitter) account paid tribute to Sonni, who was most known for playing with vocalist Mark Knopfler as the “other guitarist” during their Brothers in Arms tour in 1985–86. Additionally, he contributed a guitar synthesizer to the Brothers in Arms album track “The Man’s Too Strong” from 1985, which has since sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

How It All Began With Dire Straits

Sonni explained to DireStraitsBlog in a 2020 interview:

“I was working in a small but real guitar shop in Manhattan for a few years and Mark walked in one day. He was in town starting to record [Dire Straits’ 1980 album] Making Movies and was looking for a new guitar. We became fast friends and spent quite a lot of time together over the next four years.”

They became close friends over four years, but the idea of him joining the band wasn’t discussed until December 1985 when he was invited to finish the album in Monserrat and go on tour.

Sonni’s Inspiring Journey

After retiring from performing in 1988, Sonni later played with former Dire Straits members in the band Dire Straits Legacy. He was scheduled to participate in their 2023 tour, starting on September 15.

Sonni gave this advice to prospective musicians in the DireStraitsBlog interview from 2020:

“Do it for the love of playing and not for fame or wealth. Very few get lucky [enough] to experience what I did let alone reach the success and riches of a Mark Knopfler. So have fun above all.”