1978 Initial Flop Becomes Oldest Classic Rock Hit to Pass a Major Milestone
If we had a siren, we'd ring it for The Police, who just achieved another career milestone with their 1978 track "Roxanne." The genre-defying single about ladies of the night on the streets of Paris just joined Spotify's Billions Club, making it the oldest classic rock song to do so in this newest batch of hits.
The track becomes the band's second song, after "Every Breath You Take" in 2021, to hit a billion streams, proving the English rock group composed of a teacher and two prog-rock mavericks still rocks all these decades later.
Written by Sting and released in the spring of 1978, the lead single off The Police's debut studio album, Outlandos d'Amour, faced steep challenges right out of the gate. Not only did the song cause the BBC and radio stations in the U.S. to bristle at its provocative lyrics - a man begging a woman to leave sex work behind - but it was a reggae rock track in a new wave world.
No doubt about it "Roxanne" flopped.
"We were a bit embarrassed about 'Roxanne,'" drummer Andy Summers told Louder in 2023, "because this was the raging punk scene, where everything was at furious speed. And we had this kind of ballad. … It didn't become a hit at first, but a few people noticed it."
Namely, American deejays in Austin and Boston, who played the song on heavy rotation.
"We didn't have a record deal in the States, but because of 'Roxanne' and this heavy rotation in Boston, A&M in America came to see us," Summers shared. "They got it pretty quick and signed us to an American deal. And it all started to unfold quickly from there."
Sure did. The Police played the now-iconic hit at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and are now celebrating a billion streams.
Congratulations to Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers. And here's to another bill!
Related: 1977 Yacht-Rock Ballad With Iconic Guitar Solo Became an Era-Defining No. 1 Hit
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 3:03 PM.