Roxanne (song)

"Roxanne"
1978 A&M single art for Roxanne.
Recorded by The Police
Released:	1978-04-07 re-issue in April 1979
Recorded:	January - March 1978
Length:	3:12
Album(s):	Outlandos d'Amour
Label(s):	A&M
Writer(s):	Sting
Producer(s):	The Police
Studio(s):	Surrey Sound Studios
Released as single?	YES

"Roxanne" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1978.

About the song

Sting had the idea for the song while being in Paris' red light district with The Police on 1977-10-20.

He presented the song to the band at their rehearsal room in Finchley and they changed the Bossa Nova style to the rhythm we all know.

When recording Outlandos d'Amour (initially for Illegal Records) at Surrey Sound Studios they presented the songs they had to Miles Copeland. He was indifferent until he heard Roxanne.

Miles talked to people from A&M and got a record deal.

At the beginning of the song, during the intro, you can hear a strange piano chord, then Sting laughing. In fact, during the voice recording, Sting accidently sat on the piano just behind him. They decided to keep this on the final mix. Note that you won't hear it on the instrumental track.

Personnel

This section needs more information.

Release History

Albums

Roxanne appears on the following album releases:

Cover art	Album title	Release date	Release country
	Outlandos d'Amour	1978-11-17	UK

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	Songs	Release date	Release country
	AMCD 905	"Roxanne" / "Canary In A Coalmine" / "The Bed's Too Big Without You" / "Can't Stand Losing You"	1988-06-01	United Kingdom

7" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song/B-side song	Release date	Release country
	AMS 7348	"Roxanne"/"Peanuts"	1978-04-07	UK
	AM 2096 (promo)	"Roxanne" (stereo) /"Roxanne" (mono)	1979-01-DD	USA
	AM 2096	"Roxanne" /"Dead End Job"	1979-01-DD	USA
	AMS 7348	"Roxanne"/"Peanuts"	1979-MM-DD	UK
	AM 363	"Roxanne"/"Synchronicity"	1986-MM-DD	UK
	AM 8622 (Forget Me Nots reissue)	"Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You"	YYYY-MM-DD	USA
	AM 8622 (Memories reissue)	"Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You"	1985-MM-DD	USA
	AM 75021 8622 7 (Memories reissue)	"Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You"	1996-MM-DD	USA

12" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song(s)/B-side song(s)	Release date	Release country
	AMS 7348	"Roxanne"/"Peanuts"	1978-MM-DD	UK
	AMS 7348	"Roxanne"/"Peanuts"	1979-MM-DD	UK
	SAMP 5	"The Bed's Too Big Without You"/"So Lonely"/"Can't Stand Losing You"/"Roxanne"/"Message In A Bottle"/"Walking On The Moon"	1980-MM-DD	UK

Video

"SONG TITLE" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art	Video title	Release date	Release country
	Video or dvd title	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year	Winner	Award	Category
YYYY	WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.)	AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.)	CATEGORY

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year	Nominee	Award	Category
YYYY	NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.)	AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.)	CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country	Certifier	Classification	Certification
COUNTRY	CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...)	CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...)	CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light
Those days are over
You don't have to sell your body to the night
Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight
Walk the streets for money
You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light
Put on the red light, put on the red light
Put on the red light, put on the red light
Put on the red light, oh

I loved you since I knew ya
I wouldn't talk down to ya
I have to tell you just how I feel
I won't share you with another boy
I know my mind is made up
So put away your make up
Told you once I won't tell you again it's a bad way

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light
You don't have to put on the red light
Put on the red light, put on the red light

Quotations and trivia

The 7" single version of Roxanne sold over a half-million copies in the U.S. and would have qualified for Gold record certification under current rules set by the Recording Industry Association of America. However, at the time of the song's release, singles were awarded with a Gold certification for sales of 1,000,000 units and a Platinum certification for sales of 2,000,000 units. The change to certification of Gold status for sales of 500,000 7" units did not occur until January 1, 1989.

Alternate and cover versions

An alternate version from the Outlandos d'Amour sessions lasted 3:59 minutes. Verse two was repeated with Sting singing it in a jazzy way. The instrumental jam in the middle with just bass and drums was also extended.

Alternate versions

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song/B-side song	Release date	Release country
	AMP-782	"Every Breath You Take (backing track)"/"Roxanne (backing track)"	1983-MM-DD	Japan

Cover versions

Cover versions of Roxanne appear on the following album releases:

Cover art	Artist	Album title	Release date	Release country
	Aswad	Reggatta Mondatta	1997-MM-DD	The Netherlands
	Fall Out Boy	Policia! A Tribute To The Police	2005-MM-DD	USA

• George Michael also did a cover version.

See also

• Outlandos d'Amour

External links

http://www.followtheleaders.fr/rox2006.htm

References

• Police, The. Outlandos d'Amour. (1978) [Audio recording], A&M Records.
• ThePolice.com. UltraStar Entertainment LLC. 31 May 2008. <http://www.thepolice.com/discog/?v=so&a=2&id=219>
• Craig Betts