38 years ago today (2/23/79), the first tour of the U.S. and Canada by Dire Straits opens at the Paradise Club in Boston. The group logs 51 sold-out shows in 38 days. Sultans of Swing” off the debut album scaled the charts to number four in the United States and number eight in the United Kingdom. The song was one of Dire Straits’ biggest hits and became a fixture in the band’s live performances. Bob Dylan, who had seen the band play in Los Angeles, was so impressed that he invited Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on his next album, Slow Train Coming. Dire Straits would go on to record five more albums, as Knopfler would take on his successful solo career. Watch the band perform “Sultans of Swing” live on TV (Rockpalast) in 1979…..
