Artist · chart history
Mark Knopfler
Solo artist Glasgow United Kingdom
Mark Knopfler is an artist from Glasgow. Mark Knopfler has 23 chart appearances on 17 radio countdowns from 6 stations on RockLists, spanning 2007–2024. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Sailing to Philadelphia”, which appears on 6 lists with a best position of #191. The station that charted Mark Knopfler most often is WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), with 9 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2013.
Mark Knopfler was born in Glasgow in 1949, grew up in Newcastle, and took a detour through the University of Leeds and three years as a college lecturer before co-founding Dire Straits with his younger brother David. From 1977 to 1995 he was that band's lead guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of just two members who stuck it out the whole way, along with bassist John Illsley. Brothers in Arms, in 1985, became one of the best-selling albums ever made.
Knopfler is a fingerstyle guitarist, and his tone is instantly recognizable, clean and singing and never a note wasted, whether he's picking a Strat, a Tele or a Les Paul. When Dire Straits wound down, he went solo and dug deeper into the roots: Celtic lilts, country twang and back-porch blues. Sailing to Philadelphia, in 2000, is the sound of a man comfortable in his own skin, a warm, unhurried album where "What It Is" rolls in on a jaunty Celtic swing and "Do America" kicks up a little bar-room dust.
He's also scored films including Local Hero, Cal, The Princess Bride and Wag the Dog, and produced records for Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Randy Newman. He's a four-time Grammy winner, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him with Dire Straits in 2018.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Mark Knopfler on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailing to Philadelphia | 6 | #191 | – | – | |
| 2 | What It Is | 4 | #396 | – | – | |
| 3 | Good On You Son | 2 | #38 | – | 2018 | |
| 4 | I Used To Could | 1 | #24 | – | 2013 | |
| 5 | Cleaning My Gun | 1 | #43 | – | 2009 | |
| 6 | Beryl | 1 | #74 | – | 2015 | |
| 7 | This Is Us | 1 | #622 | – | – | |
| 8 | Ahead Of The Game | 1 | #81 | – | 2024 | |
| 9 | Corned Beef City | 1 | #82 | – | 2013 | |
| 10 | Do America | 1 | #761 | – | – | |
| 11 | Punish the Monkey | 1 | #91 | – | 2007 | |
| 12 | Border Reiver | 1 | #823 | – | – | |
| 13 | Song for Sonny Liston | 2 | #862 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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