Dire Straits legend dies at 68 as band pays tribute

Rest in peace Jack

The musician's passing was announced on X by the band, alongside a black and white picture of the performer. It reads: "#JackSonni Rest In Peace #DireStraits."

Sonni's cause of death has not yet been revealed.

He was known as "the other guitarist" during the group's Brothers in Arms era, named after their fifth album, released in 1985.

On Tuesday, Dire Straits Legacy, an official group of musicians who toured with the band, announced Sonni had been suffering from ill health in a social media post.

The post read: "Dear fans, unfortunately, Jack Sonni will not be able to participate in our next gigs because of health problems. Jack get better soon, we are waiting for you! With love, the DSL family."

Following the announcement, many fans wrote tributes on his Facebook page.

One posted: "OMG… so sorry to hear this terrible news. RIP hero!"

Another added: "Sending love and condolences to Nadine and family. RIP Jack."

Dire Straits' fans said they remembered him for his performance of the group's hit track Tunnel of Love in 1985.

Sonni had been working at the famous New York City guitar shop Rudy's Music Stop in the 1970s when he first met The Dire Straits' co-founders David and Mark Knopfler.

He played alongside the band at the iconic 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium that raised money for the famine that hit Ethiopia and later described the experience as: "Exhilarating, surreal and a dream come true. It was an amazing, special day not just for me but the world and I’m grateful and proud to have been a part of it."

Sonni left Dire Straits in 1988 and quit the music industry before, in his words, getting "a day job in marketing and advertising and focused on raising my twin daughters."

He worked first at Seymour Duncan, then Rivera Guitar Amplifiers before spending several years as the director of marketing communications at Line 6, a manufacturer of digital technology products for musicians.

Dire Straits disbanded in 1985, though Knopfler has continued his music career as a solo artist.

Sonni often joked about his "the other guitarist" nickname.

In an interview with Ring Side Report, he said: "Over the years, people introduced me as the guitar player in Dire Straits, and most folks would say, 'But isn’t that Mark Knopfler?' "And I would say, 'Yes, I’m the other guitar player.'"

In June 2021, Sonni was living in the tiny town of Taylor, Mississippi and speaking about his life at the time he told The Martha's Vineyard Times: "Both my grandfathers were coal miners. One Italian and one Polish, and one of them lost an arm in a mining accident.

"Somehow it spurred this whole thing about mines and trying to escape where you come from, but you can’t. "I’ve led a nomadic life for decades. For all my world traveling, I’m a kid from Western Pennsylvania."