Roxanne (song)
| Roxanne | |
|---|---|
| The Police | |
| publication | April 7, 1978 |
| length | 3:12 |
| Genre (s) | Reggae - rock , new wave |
| Author (s) | Sting |
| Producer (s) | The Police |
| Label | A&M Records |
| album | Outlandos d'Amour |
Roxanne is a song by the rock group The Police , which was released as a single in 1978 and on the album Outlandos d'Amour . The song is about a prostitute .
Musician
- Sting - Fretless bass , vocals, backing vocals
- Andy Summers - guitar, backing vocals
- Stewart Copeland - drums, backing vocals
history
The song was written by Sting , the band's lead singer. He was inspired by prostitutes he saw near his hotel while the band was in Paris in October 1977 to perform at the Nashville Club. The title of the play is the name of a character from the play Cyrano by Bergerac , of which an old poster hung in the hotel foyer.
Sting originally imagined the song as Bossa Nova ; allegedly the Police drummer Stewart Copeland suggested the more tango- oriented rhythm that was eventually used .
While recording, Sting accidentally sat on a piano at the beginning of the piece. The resulting cluster and the laughter that followed were left on the recording.
The band was reluctant to play the song at first, but Miles Copeland III , manager of the band and brother of the drummer, was very enthusiastic after hearing it and got the band their first record deal with A&M Records . The single didn't make it to the charts at first, but was re-released in 1979, peaking at number 12 in the UK and number 32 in the US. The song became a classic of the Police and is also part of the standard program of the singer Sting after he started his solo career. Roxanne has appeared on every Police Greatest Hits compilation so far .
In Rolling Stone , it ranks 388 on the list of the 500 best songs of all time .
When the Police reunited after 30 years during the 2007 Grammy Awards, this song was the first to be played.
Music video
Three different music videos have been released by Roxanne .
The first shows the band on a stage during a kind of sound check. In addition, pieces from live performances by the band are shown in slow motion.
The second version was shot on a soundstage and shows the band in front of a red backdrop.
The third version is the same as the second, but the video material has been transferred to film to add grainy image structure.
Cover versions
Inga Rumpf's cover was published very early on and appeared on her 1979 album I Know Who I Am . Other cover versions of this piece were published by George Michael in 1999 on his album Songs from the Last Century . Also in 2001 by Ewan McGregor , José Feliciano , Jacek Koman and Richard Roxburgh in the film Moulin Rouge , where it was transformed into a tango with the title El Tango de Roxanne . There are other versions by Fall Out Boy , Dilana , Fonzerelli and Incubus (together with members of the Police with the exception of Sting.) In 2015 there was an acoustic cover version by Milky Chance and AnnenMayKantereit .
Parts of Roxanne have been used as samples in numerous pieces of music .
Track list
7 "(single): A&M / AMS 7348 (UK)
- "Roxanne" - 3:00
- "Peanuts" - 2:52