Sting and The Police

In Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps, Aaron J. West explores the cultural and musical impact of Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, and Sting. West details the distinctive hybrid character of The Police’s musical output, which would also characterize Sting’s post-Police development as a musician. Sting’s long-lived solo career embodies the power of the artful appropriation of musical styles, while capitalizing on the modern realities of pop music consumption. The Police, and Sting in particular, were pioneers in music video, modern label marketing, global activism, and the internationalization of pop music in their embrace of punk, reggae, and world music.