Roxanne (The Police song)

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We went into Surrey Sound Studios and it was working pretty well. We recorded a few tracks, one of which I wrote more or less as a throwaway. That was 'Roxanne', I didn't think much more about it until we played the album to Miles Copeland who is, of course, Stewart's brother and a bit of an entrepreneur, though he'd never been particularly interested in the Police. In fact, he'd kept away from it to say the least. He did come along to the sessions while we were putting the first album together but more or less just to offer brotherly advice to Stewart. He heard the album and quite liked it. When we got to Roxanne, we were a bit embarrassed because the song was a bit of an anachronism, because compared with our usual material it was slow, quiet and melodic. Far from saying he thought it was a piece of shit, he said it was amazing. I thought, 'He likes this song. This is fantastic!

— Sting, A Visual Documentary, 1978 [13]

According to Andy Summers:

Sting played it for me in my living room early on. He was very shy at first bringing in his songs. But it was brilliant, and later on we all worked it out in a damp basement in North London. I remember Stewart telling Sting where to place the bass notes, which was a bit tricky. Miles Copeland came down to hear us and we were kind of embarrassed to play it for him, because Miles had blinders on and was into fast and furious punk. But much to his credit, he said, 'This is great, a knockout!' I was really surprised. And he took it to A&M and got a contract for one single. I don't think it ever broke the Top 40 in America, but eventually it became the Police signature tune.

— Andy Summers, Guitar World, 1/94 [14]

Release

"Roxanne" became the band's debut single for A&M Records. However, despite the praise given by Miles Copeland, the single did not chart upon its initial release. Writing in Record Mirror, singles reviewer Bev Briggs declared "This must be the big breaker for the Police .... what the hell, go out and buy it immediately". [15]

The band released two further singles in the UK that year: "Can't Stand Losing You", which charted at number 42, and "So Lonely", which did not chart. Then, in early 1979, "Roxanne" was issued in North America as the group's first single there. In the US, "Roxanne" entered the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979 and peaked at No. 32 in April. In Canada, the single peaked one rung higher on the charts at No. 31. Cash Box said it has "fast slashing rhythm guitar work, spacious arrangement and good singing." [16] The Fort Worth Star Telegram rated it the 5th-best single of 1979. [17]

The song's international success spurred a UK re-release in April 1979 of "Roxanne", which reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart. [18] A live solo version performed by Sting from the 1982 album The Secret Policeman's Other Ball received moderate airplay on album-oriented rock radio and reached No. 28 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. [19] The song went on to become a staple of Sting's performances during his solo career, and The Police performed it when they reunited in 2003 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1997, "Roxanne" was remixed by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy for the compilation The Very Best of Sting & The Police . [20] The remix, titled "Roxanne '97", featured raps from Pras and samples from UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne". [21] "Roxanne '97" peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. [22]

Acclaim

"Roxanne" has appeared on all of the Police's greatest hits albums. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 388 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [8]

In 2000, VH1 ranked the song No. 85 on its list of the "100 Greatest Rock Songs", then in 2003 ranked it No. 90 on their list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 years". It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2008, "Roxanne" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [10]

Music videos

Two music videos were released for "Roxanne". The first shows the band performing the song on a stage on what is perhaps a sound check to a show. Many slow-motion shots of the group live appear here as well. The second version was shot on a sound stage and shows the band performing before a red backdrop.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

7-inch: A&M / AMS 7348 (UK)

  1. "Roxanne" – 3:00 (Sting)
  2. "Peanuts" (single edit) – 2:52 (Stewart Copeland, Sting)

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

"Roxanne"
Roxanne - The Police (Original UK Release).jpg
Original 1978 UK sleeve
Single by the Police
from the album Outlandos d'Amour
B-side "Peanuts"
Released7 April 1978
Genre
Length3:02 (Single version)
3:15 (Album version)
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Sting
Producer(s) The Police
The Police singles chronology
"Fall Out"
(1977)		"Roxanne"
(1978)		"Can't Stand Losing You"
(1978)
Sting singles chronology
"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying (with Toby Keith)"
(1997)		"Roxanne '97"
(1997)		"Brand New Day"
(1999)

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)Rank
Canada ( RPM ) [37] 195
New Zealand (RIANZ) [38] 43

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [39] Gold45,000‡
France—300,000 [40]
Italy (FIMI) [41]
Since 2009 		Platinum100,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [42] Platinum60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

In 2006, singer Dilana performed "Roxanne" on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova and subsequently released the cover as a single. In 2012, the song was covered by singer Juliet Simms for the reality television show The Voice . Her cover reached No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. [44]

"El Tango de Roxanne"

For the 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film Moulin Rouge! directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann, the song "El Tango de Roxanne" was composed as a fusion of "Roxanne" with "Tanguera" by Mariano Mores. The message is, as stated by one character: "Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself." [45] The song was performed by Jacek Koman, Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, and José Feliciano. In the film, the song shows a combination of locations, memories and characters, anchored by the ensemble cast dancing tango.

"Redlight" by Swedish House Mafia

In 2022, the song was interpolated by lead singer Sting and Swedish house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia as "Redlight". [46] It was released on 25 February 2022 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album Paradise Again . [47]

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References

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  6. ↑ Mojo (2007). Irvin, Jim (ed.). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (4th ed.). Canongate Books. p. 412. ISBN   978-1-8419-5973-3.
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  8. 1 2 "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500)". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
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  10. 1 2 "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame – r". Grammy Hall of Fame Award. The Recording Academy . Retrieved 21 December 2012.
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  14. ↑ "Release Details: Roxanne, 12". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Briggs, Bev (15 April 1978). "Singles". Record Mirror . p. 10.
  16. ↑ "Singles Reviews > Singles to Watch" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XL, no. 39. 10 February 1979. p. 18. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Kaye, Roger (13 January 1980). "The best albums, singles and concerts of 1979". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. 1D, 10D. Retrieved 18 June 2022– via newspapers.com.
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  19. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2002). Rock Tracks. Record Research. p. 136.
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  21. ↑ Diehl, Matt (28 November 1997). "Roxanne '97 Puff Daddy Remix". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Billboard Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard . 10 January 1998. p. 84. ISSN   0006-2510.
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  31. ↑ "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World . 14 April 1979. p. 31. ISSN   0034-1622 . Retrieved 17 September 2017.
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  33. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 49, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
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  39. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Police – Roxanne". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  40. ↑ Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Fabrice Ferment (ed.). "TOP – 1980". 40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles (in French). OCLC   469523661. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2024– via Top-France.fr.
  41. ↑ "Italian single certifications – The Police – Roxanne" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  42. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – The Police – Roxanne". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  43. ↑ "British single certifications – Police – Roxanne". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  44. ↑ "Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 124, no. 14. 28 April 2012. p. 42. ISSN   0006-2510.
  45. ↑ William A. Everett; Paul R. Laird, eds. (2017). The Cambridge Companion to the Musical. Cambridge University Press. p. 401. ISBN   9781107114746.
  46. ↑ Spilsbury, Jack (24 January 2022). "Sebastian Ingrosso announces next Swedish House Mafia single 'Redlight' will feature Sting". We Rave You. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  47. ↑ Ewan, Amelie (25 February 2022). "Swedish House Mafia, Sting cement legendary crossover on fourth 'Paradise Again' single, 'Redlight'". Sounderground. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

Bibliography

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