Mark Knopfler is of course best known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and all-around ring-leader of the rock band Dire Straights. He's had an accomplished career marked both by critical success and the overwhelmingly omnipresent commercial success of "Money or Nothing," the hit song from the 1984 album Brothers In Arms that managed to be an era-defining video on MTV while at the same time skewering the very channel.
Chet Atkins has been equally revered for his skill and success, with a stellar career that dates back to the 1950s. Known mostly as a country artist and a pioneer of the "Nashville sound" that proliferated in the 1970s, Atkins style drew widely from jazz greats like Django Reinhart. He was also renowned as a record executive, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is a legend in his own right.
By 1990, Atkins had already made of career-long habit of recording with like-minded guitarists, including notable collaborations with Jerry Reed, Les Paul and others.
Knopfler, who had long cited Atkins as a major influence, finally collaborated with Atkins in that year for the album, Neck and Neck. It was a critical sucess, garnering two Grammy awards.
But even before that album came out, the two had been picking together, honing their collborative sound. They performed together in 1987 at the benefit concert The Secret Policeman's Third Ball in London.
An excerpt from that performance is making the YouTube rounds and includes the 1920s popular song "I'll See You In My Dreams" and John Lennon's "Imagine."
With appreciation for the heads-up to the Italian website MusicOff.com, here it is:
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