"Roxanne"
Single by The Police
from the album Outlandos d'Amour
Released	April 1978 April 1979 (re-release)
Format	vinyl record (7")
Recorded	1978
Genre	New Wave
Length	3:14
Label	A&M Records
Writer(s)	Sting
Producer(s)	Stewart Copeland, Sting, Andy Summers
Peak chart positions
#12 (UK Singles Chart) (re-release) #32 (Billboard Hot 100) #21 (Dutch Top 40)
The Police singles chronology
"Fall Out" (1977)	"Roxanne" (1979)	"Can't Stand Losing You" (1979)
Audio sample
Play (in browser) (help· info)

For the song "Roxanne, Roxanne" by U.T.F.O. and the rejoinders including "Roxanne's Revenge" by Roxanne Shanté, see Roxanne Wars

"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland. ... Outlandos dAmour is the debut album by The Police, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in Western popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s inspired by the punk rock movement. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Sting circa 1987 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), best known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician and formerly bassist and lead singer of The Police. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician. ... For professional wrestler Steve Borden, see Sting (wrestler). ... Andy Summers, 1996 Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942 in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... The Dutch Top 40 (: Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart, which first started as the Veronica Top 40, because the pirate radio channel Veronica first introduced it. ... The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland. ... Cant Stand Losing You is a song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos dAmour. ... Image File history File links Roxanne_by_The_Police. ... U.T.F.O. was a 1980s Hip-hop music group, from Brooklyn, New York. ... Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Shanté Gooden on November 9, 1969) is an American rap pioneer. ... The Roxanne, Roxanne War is a wellknown series of hip hop rivalries during the mid 1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Rock and roll. ... The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland. ... See also: other events of 1978 list of years in music 1970s in music // January 14 - The Sex Pistols played their final show (until a 1996 reunion) at San Franciscos Winterland Ballroom. ... Outlandos dAmour is the debut album by The Police, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). ...

History

Police lead singer Sting wrote the song, inspired by the prostitutes he saw near the band's seedy hotel while in Paris, France in October 1977 to perform at the Nashville Club. The title of the song comes from the name of the character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac, an old poster of which was hanging in the hotel foyer. Sting in Budapest, 2000 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Floating not submerging) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Cyrano de Bergerac is a play by Edmond Rostand based on the life of the real Cyrano de Bergerac. ...

Sting had originally conceived the song as a bossa nova, although he credits Police drummer Stewart Copeland for suggesting its final rhythmic form as a tango. During recording, Sting accidentally sat down on a piano keyboard in the studio, resulting in the atonal piano chord and laughter preserved at the beginning of the track. The Police were initially diffident about the song, but Miles Copeland III was immediately enthusiastic after hearing it, becoming their manager and getting them their first record deal with A&M Records. The single did not chart at first, but it was re-released in April 1979 and reached #12 in the UK and #32 in the U.S., and went on to become one of the classic Police songs as well as a staple of Sting's performances during his solo career. Bossa Nova is a style of Brazilian music created by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto and was first introduced in Brazil in 1958, with Elizete Cardosos recording of Chega de Saudade on the Canção do Amor Demais LP. Composed by Antonio Carlos... Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician. ... Tango music is traditionally played by an orquesta típica, a sextet which includes two violins, piano, doublebass, and two bandoneons. ... Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American entertainment executive, best known for founding I.R.S. Records. ... A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ...

Rolling Stone ranked it #388 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This article is about the magazine. ... ...

This was also the appropriately first song the band performed live (at the 2007 Grammy Awards) to kick off their 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour. Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The Police Reunion Tour is a 2007 concert tour by long-estranged reggae-rock greats The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. ...

Music Video

There were three different music videos released for "Roxanne". The first shows the band performing the song onstage in what looks like a soundcheck for a concert. The second version was shot on a soundstage and shows the band performing behind a red backdrop. The third version is identical to the second except the footage was transferred from videotape to film and has a grainy quality to it.

Cover versions

Variations of this song were performed by George Michael on his 1999 covers album Songs from the Last Century, and by Ewan McGregor, Jose Feliciano, Jacek Koman & Richard Roxburgh in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! In 2005, the song was also recorded by the Chicago rock band Fall Out Boy for a limited edition release of their CD, Take This To Your Grave. On November 28th, 2006, it was featured on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova, performed by Chris Pierson and later Dilana. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Greek: Γιώργος-Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου), better known as George Michael (born on June 25, 1963) is an English [1] singer-songwriter and pop star who performs soul influenced pop, and who (as a solo artist and half of the duo WHAM!) has enjoyed global success since 1982. ... Songs from the Last Century is an album by singer George Michael, released in December of 1999 (see 1999 in music). ... Ewan Gordon McGregor (born March 31, 1971)(IPA pronunciation: [1]) is a Scottish actor who has had significant success in mainstream, indie and art house films. ... José Montserrate Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer. ... Richard Roxburgh (born January 1, 1962) is an Australian actor, who has starred in many Australian films and has appeared in prominent supporting roles in a number of Hollywood productions, usually as villains. ... Bold text // Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 Academy Award winning musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Fall Out Boy (commonly abbreviated as FOB) is a pop punk/alternative rock band from Wilmette, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago, Illinois) that formed in 2001. ... Take This to Your Grave is the critically acclaimed debut release from Fall Out Boy on Fueled by Ramen, released on May 6, 2003. ... Dilana is a singer, songwriter, and performer who lives in Los Angeles, California. ...

This song was also sampled by the rapper Cam'ron for his 2000 single "What Means the World to You", taken from his second album S.D.E. (Sports, Drugs and Entertainment). In general, a sample is a part of the total, such as one individual or a set of individuals from a population (of people or things), a small piece or amount of something larger, a number of function values of a function, or part of a song. ... Cameron Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known as Camron, or Killa Cam, is a platinum selling rapper from Harlem in New York City. ... SDE is also an acronym for stochastic differential equation Preview S.D.E (Sports, Drugs and Entertainment), Camrons sophomore full length, S.D.E. (Sports, Drugs and Entertainment), is packed with guest star appearances and stories of urban ills and his life as a former basketball player. ...

In 2006, using Spanglish lyrics, Angela Via sampled the song in "She Used To Be A Friend". Spanglish — also called espanglish, inglañol, or espanglés, a blend of the Spanish-language words for Spanish and English — is a name used to refer to a range of language-contact phenomena, primarily in the speech of the Hispanic population of the United States, which is exposed to... Angela Vía (born December 29, 1981 as Angela Jolene Trullinger Villarreal) is an American singer/songwriter from Texas. ...

During their 2006 shows whilst promoting their album Game Theory, hip hop group The Roots used Roxanne in their song list with drummer ?uestlove singing. Game theory is often described as a branch of applied mathematics and economics that studies situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... The Roots, also known as The Legendary Roots Crew, The Fifth Dynasty, The Square Roots and The Foundation, are an influential, Grammy winning Philadelphia-based hip hop group, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. ... Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971), known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove, is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. ...

Cultural references

"Roxanne" is famously featured for comedic effect in the movie 48 Hrs. In the scene when Eddie Murphy's character is introduced to the audience, he is loudly singing along to the song which is playing on his Walkman (terribly mimicking Sting's voice). This moment was later imitated in the sequel Another 48 Hrs. 48 Hrs. ... Edward Eddie Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961, Brooklyn, New York City) is a Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. ... Sony Walkman Official Logo (2000 — current) Various products of the Walkman line Walkman is a popular Sony brand used to market its portable audio players, and is synonymously used to refer to the original Walkman portable personal stereo player and as a generic term for similar devices from other manufacturers. ... Another 48 Hrs is a 1990 film, the sequel to 48 Hrs. ...

The song is heard in the Phyllis' Wedding episode of The Office as played by Scrantonicity, the Police cover band featuring Dunder Mifflin accountant Kevin Malone. Additionally, on their album covering Scrantonicity songs, La Iglesia No Amplificada recorded a version of this song, including the "Uncle Al is Missing" segue featured in Scrantonicity's live performances. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Office (US) Phyllis Wedding is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the U.S. version of The Office. ... The Office is an Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning [1] American television comedy that debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005. ... Scrantonicity is the name of a fictional rock n roll band from the United States version of the television series The Office. ... Dunder-Mifflin logo Dunder-Mifflin is a fictional paper company featured in the television series The Office. ... Kevin Malone is also the name of a former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager. ...

A&M Records, the bands record company, are promoting the current 2007 reunion tour as the 30th anniversary of the release of their first single and not indeed that of the bands creation. ABC reported "This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of "Roxanne," the single that broke the Police in the United States." The single itself was released in April 1978. [1]

There is a drinking game amongst youth called "Roxanne," in which the Police's song is played, and for every time they sing 'Roxanne,' all the men in the room take a sip of beer, and on 'red light,' all the women in the room take a sip of beer.