"Roxanne" | ||||
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![]() Original 1978 UK sleeve | ||||
Single by the Police | ||||
from the album Outlandos d'Amour | ||||
B-side | "Peanuts" | |||
Released | 7 April 1978 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:02 (Single version) 3:15 (Album version) | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sting | |||
Producer(s) | The Police | |||
The Police singles chronology | ||||
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Sting singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() UK 1979 reissue | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Roxanne" on YouTube |
"Roxanne" is a song by British rock band the Police. The song was written by lead singer and bassist Sting and was released as a single on 7 April 1978,[5] in advance of their debut album Outlandos d'Amour, released on 3 November.[6] It was written from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute. When re-released on 12 April 1979,[7] the song peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song ranked No. 388 on the Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[8] and was voted No. 85 by VH1 on its list of the "100 Greatest Rock Songs".
In 2008, "Roxanne" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[9]