The origins of the band go back to 1962 when guitarist Claude Reid, a young musician greatly affected by British sounds established as an adolescent les Dots, an instrumental combo with Marcel Richard and shortly later André Dion and Gilles Henry and drummer Michel Dufault.
Early 1964, the band became known for "Toujours devant moi" a remake of Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Oh Lady" already made popular by Chats Sauvages and Spanish covers for "Cielito Lindo" and "La Bamba".
In autumn 1964, les Sultans were chosen to succeed the Hou-Lops, another Maskoutain group from the late 1950s, in the popular youth programme Bonsoir Copains on CHLT-TV in Sherbrooke.
Managed by Jean-Guy Labelle and later Gerry Plamondon and lyricist Gilles Brown, Les Sultans became popular with songs like "Vivre sa vie" and "On est trop jeune" which made the group the youth generation spokesmen for Quebecers.
Their 1966 self-titled album Les Sultans broke all records of sale in Quebec, as they were chosen the Best Group of the Year during Festival du disque particularly with the launch of "L'amour s'en va", composed by band members Bruce Huard and Denis Forcier and the follow-up "Pour qui pourquoi".