Jack Sonni, greatest often called “the opposite guitarist” in Dire Straits, died August 30. He was 68 and suffered a stroke at his dwelling in Mississippi.

A Pennsylvania native, Sonni moved to New York Metropolis within the mid ’70s, turning into well-known by enjoying weekly jams at Kenny’s Castaways, in Greenwich Village. He additionally began working at music shops on forty eighth Avenue, together with Rudy’s, the place he met Mark Knopfler.

After Straits’ second guitarist Hal Lindes left the band in 1984, Knopfler requested the affable and proficient Sonni to hitch; the well timed connection noticed Sonni, discouraged and set to depart New York after struggling for a decade, immediately sure for George Martin’s AIR Studios in Montserrat, the place the band was practically completed with Brothers in Arms. Sonni recorded guitar synth for “The Man’s Too Robust,” then performed a number of the largest venues on the planet with Straits, together with Dwell Assist Wembley on July 13, 1985.

Following the band’s breakup, Sonni went to work for Seymour Duncan pickups and, later, Rivera Amplification, Line 6, and Guitar Heart. After leaving the company world in 2006, he cut up time between writing literature and internet hosting the music podcast “Jack Sonni’s Leisure Class.” He additionally returned to gigging and performing with different former members in The Dire Straits Legacy undertaking.

This text initially appeared in VG’s November 2023 subject. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.