In a 1979 interview in “Guitar Player” magazine, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler summed up his self-taught guitar style to Joel A. Siegel. “I learned the basics from people like the Shadows, the Everly Brothers, Duane Eddy, Rick Nelson and Elvis … I liked playing American music.” Elvis Presley influenced many young musicians who came of age in the 1960s, including those across the Atlantic in England, and the work and personality of the King of Rock and Roll continue to fascinate Knopfler into the century. XXI.
Knopfler’s first brush with the King occurred when Phil Lynott (of Thin Lizzy fame) wrote a melody about Elvis’s death for his 1980 solo album “Solo in Soho.” The song, titled “King’s Call,” features the same style of guitar playing found on the first two Dire Straits albums. Knopfler appears heavily in the song’s music video, dressed in lederhosen and crying in his famous red Fender Strat. In a 2001 interview for Vintage Guitar Magazine, Willie G. Moseley called the song “one of the best Elvis tribute songs ever recorded,” to which Knopfler responded, “I really enjoyed hanging out with Phil. [His death] it was a shame; He was a sweet guy. “Even in 2006, the Austin Chronicle (a Texas alternative newspaper) praised the” neon licks “heard on the track.
In 1991, the last Dire Straits album, “On Every Street”, opened with a rock tune, “Calling Elvis.” The song was also used to open each concert during that particular 91-92 tour. Numerous references to song titles flow through the lyrics, such as:
Oh love me tenderly
Baby don’t be cruel
Return to Sender
Treat me like a fool
Ironically, the song itself was not inspired by Presley, but by a strange phrase twist from a family member. During a radio interview on BBC 1, Knopfler explained: “My brother-in-law said one day that trying to call your sister was like trying to call Elvis. And that was it. That was it.”
In 2004, Knopfler continued to perform tribute with a quiet song called “Back to Tupelo.” Perhaps more about Elvis’s infamous manager, Colonel Tom Parker, tells the story of Elvis at a crossroads. In a promotional interview that year, Knopfler explains: “I guess as a child I gradually realized that Elvis wanted to be a Hollywood star as well as a singer. I didn’t realize how much he could. I was surprised to learn that there are managers. of today’s musician who look up to their manager, Colonel Parker. And thousands of young people today want to be famous, often just to be famous, probably more than at any time in the past. “
There may be more song references and tributes in store as the years progress. Elvis may have left the building, but he certainly hasn’t left the creative mind of Mark Knopfler.