Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE is a British songwriter guitarist and record producer He was the lead guitarist singer and songwriter for the rock band Dire Straits which he cofounded with his younger brother David Knopfler in 1977 Described by Classic Rock as a virtuoso Knopfler is a fingerstyle guitarist and was ranked 27th on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time As of 2009 he and Dire Straits had sold more than 120 million records A fourtime Grammy Award winner Knopfler is the recipient of the Edison Award the Steiger Award and the Ivor Novello Award as well as holding three honorary doctorate degrees in music from universities in the United Kingdom Knopfler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018