(CelebrityAccess) – Jack Sonni, former guitarist for the rock band Dire Straits, has died, the group announced on social media. His cause of death has not been revealed. He was 68.
“#JackSonni Rest In Peace,” the band wrote on X, fka Twitter, on Thursday (August 31) alongside a black and white photograph of the guitarist.
#JackSonni 🎸 Rest In Peace 🙏#DireStraits pic.twitter.com/W3vx65bY5h
— Dire Straits 🎸 (@DireStraits77) August 31, 2023
Sonni, born in Indiana, PA, met founding Dire Straits members David and Mark Knopfler while working at a guitar shop in Manhattan in 1978, according to a post on the Dire Straits official website blog. The Knopflers had founded the band with John Illsley and Pick Withers in 1977.
Affectionately known as “the other guitarist” within the band, Sonni was invited to become a member of the band in 1984 and appeared on the album Brothers in Arms, which achieved international success with the famous hits, “Walk of Life” “Money For Nothing” and “Brothers In Arms.”
The album spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the UK Albums chart following its 1985 release and nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. According to the band’s official website, it sold more than 30 million copies globally.
“So sorry to hear the sad news that Jack Sonni has died; we loved having him with us on the Brothers in Arms tour, fond memories,” Illsley wrote in a post on Facebook Thursday.
Sonni switched career paths after his twin daughters were born in 1988. TorontoSun reports he began his second career as a marketing executive, followed by Director of Marketing Communications at Line 6, a manufacturer of digital tech products for musicians. In 2001, he was named Vice President of Marketing Communications for the Guitar Center.
Sonni was also a writer-in-residence and house manager at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts on Martha’s Vineyard until 2017. He hosted a podcast, “The Leisure Class with Jack Sonni,” and played music with his band, The Leisure Class.
