Roxanne (1978) 9/14/20

It is a puzzlement—at least to me. There's no doubt that today's song was a “Great Song of the '70s,” and there's plenty of evidence to back it up:

*It's #388 on Rolling Stone's list of the “Top 500 Songs of All Time.

*”It's #85 on VH-1's list of the “Best Rock Songs of All Time.”

*The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's has it on their list of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll.”

*In 2008, the song was inducted in to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

And yet...and yet...

The only place it charted in the Top 10 was New Zealand, where it went to #8. The next closest was the UK, where it reached #12, then Australia at #19. The song never got higher than #20 ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD! In the US, it stalled at #32, and in Canada it peaked at #31.

It doesn't make sense to me--unless a tango about falling in love with a prostitute named after a character in the play “Cyrano Bergerac” put on the “red light” for radio station air play. By 1978, however, other hits had “R” rated lyrics, so that shouldn't have been much of a factor. Or maybe it was.

But in the end, it doesn't matter, because “Roxanne” by the Police is not just a “Great Song of the '70s,” it's an all-time classic!