May 17, 1985: British rock band Dire Straits release their album Brothers In Arms. It has been hailed as one of the best rock and roll albums of all time. It was also the 1st album to sell over 1 million copies in compact disc form.
Mark Freuder Knopfler was born on August 12, 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother was English, and his father was a Hungarian Jew who fled the Nazis. He brought his younger brother, David Knopfler, into his band, Dire Straits, founded in London in 1977, with Mark playing lead guitar and David playing rhythm guitar. Bass guitarist John Illsley and original drummer John "Pick" Withers were from Leicester, England.
In 1978, they released their debut album, Sultans of Swing. The title track became a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and Mark's vocals were compared to Bob Dylan's. In 1980, David Knopfler left the group, meaning that, while the group may have been "brothers in arms," they no longer contained a pair of brothers.
Hal Lindes, from Monterey, California, became the new rhythm guitarist, and was replaced in 1984 by another American, Jack Sonni, from Indiana, Pennsylvania. Also in 1980, keyboard player Alan Clark, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England, joined. In 1982, Withers was replaced on drums by Terry Williams, from Swansea, Wales. In 1984, keyboard player Guy Fletcher joined, from Maidstone, Kent, England.
From November 1984 to February 1985, they recorded the album Brothers in Arms at AIR Studios on Montserrat, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The studio, since abandoned, had been the recording site of many albums. Knopfler wrote all the songs on the album, and produced it along with Neil Dorfsman, a New Yorker who had been the engineer on the group's last album in 1982, Love over Gold.
The 1st track on the album, and the 1st single released from it, was "So Far Away," but it only hit Number 19. The 2nd single was "Money for Nothing." It was a satire of style-over-substance performers, with guest star Sting mockingly singing MTV's slogan: "I want my... I want my... I want my MTV!" With that guest appearance, Knopfler's spectacular opening guitar riff, and the chorus of "Money for nothing and chicks for free," it hit Number 1. (Knopfler got into a little trouble with calling the leader of the band being mocked "That little faggot." That line is usually dropped for airplay.) "Walk of Life" hit Number 7 in early 1986.
The group broke up in 1988, reformed in 1990, and broke up again in 1995. They were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. As of May 13, 2022, all members of Dire Straits are still alive, as is producer Neil Dofsman.
UPDATE: Jack Sonni died in 2023.
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May 17, 1985 was a Friday. Football player Matt Ryan and actor-dancer Derek Hough were born.
This was the era of the USFL, the United States Football League, which played pro football in the Spring, and they played 1 game on this day: The Baltimore Stars beat the Orlando Magic, 34-21 at the Citrus Bowl (now Camping World Stadium) in Orlando.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals. Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals was played, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 136-118 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 6-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Phil Niekro pitched 7 2/3rds innings of 2-hit shutout ball, Ron Guidry got the last out in the 8th inning, and Don Cooper completed the 3-hit shutout. It was the kind of screwball managing in which Billy Martin specialized.
Dave Winfield went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a forceout. Don Mattingly went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Rickey Henderson did not play in the game. Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew did -- for the Angels. Mr. October went 0-for-3 with a walk. Carew, in his final season, went 0-for-4.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Gary Carter singled Wally Backman home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. This made Roger McDowell a winning pitcher in relief of Ron Darling. Ray Knight hit a home run.
* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Andre Dawson doubled Tim Raines home in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-5 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Von Hayes and Juan Samuel hit home runs for the Phils. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-2 with a walk before being replaced defensively.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Reds player-manager Pete Rose put himself in the game, and went 2-for-3 with a walk.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Roger Clemens pitched a 5-hit shutout, striking out 10. Wade Boggs went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Bret Saberhagen pitched a 2-hit shutout. George Brett went 1-for-4 with a walk. Robin Yount went 1-for-3. Paul Molitor went 0-for-3.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Tom Brunansky singled Mickey Hatcher home in the bottom of the 11th inning.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 8-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. The Cards scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning, on singles by Jack Clark, Andy Van Slyke and Terry Pendleton, to come from behind and win.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-2 at the Oakland Coliseum.
* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken and Fritzie Connally hit home runs.
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