A closer look at the legendary band that
gave the world a remarkable
performance, then quietly bowed out.
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner
 October 1, 1951
Wallsend, Northumberland, UK
Father was poor
‘My Baby’
Gordon’s First Instrument
Giant steps are what you take…
• When you move from small jazz clubs to sold
out stadium shows
What’s in a name?
• Gordon was wearing a yellow and black
striped sweater, to which Gordon Solomon
remarked, ‘You look like a wasp.’
Education
• Northern Counties College of Education
• Teacher
• Honorary PhD in Music from Northumbria
University and Berklee College of Music
Three Become One
Stewart Copeland, Sting, & Andy Summers
1978 - Outlandos d’Amour
1979 – Reggata de Blanc
1980 – Zenyatta Mondatta
1981 – Ghost in the Machine
1983 - Synchronicity
The Ranger Becomes Lone
 1981 Sting nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best
Song by Solos Artist’
 By 1985 The Police had peacefully disbanded
 By this time Sting already had 6 Grammy
awards under his belt
Sting was just getting started
Money for Nothin’
• Developed lasting friendship with Dire
Straights’ Mark Knopfler
• Sting becomes a world-wide proponent for
charities and fund-raising for causes
One Man Band
☑Double Bass
☑Bass Guitar
☑Piano
☑Sax
☑Lute
☑Bongos y Congas
☑Mandolin
☑Pan Flute
☑Almost forgot…VOICE too!
Sting and Disney
• Tarzan
• Emperor’s New Groove
• 16 Grammy Awards at this point!
Mourn the loss of
a financial building
Jam out to Sting
2002 Sting comes to Salt Lake City
• Olympic Ceremony opening with Yo Yo Ma and
Mormon Tabernacle Quoir
• Sting induced into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Musician, Composer, Actor, & Family
Man
• 6 Children from two marriages
• Married to Trudie Styler
• Raw Food Vegan
The Bed’s Too Big Without You
Murder by Numbers
Englishman in New York
AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF 3 OF
STING’S COMPOSITIONS
Bed’s Too Big Without You
Reggata de Blanc
Record Facts:
• 1979
• Single: Message in a Bottle
• Debuted No. 25 in US
• Debuted No. 1 in UK
• A&M Records Ltd
 Major Key
 Simple Meter 4/4
 Strong bass drum on beat 3 (cornerstone of reggae music)
 Reggata de Blanc = White Boy Reggae
 Bass guitar carries half melody/harmony with disjunct bass line
beginning on beat 3
 Guitar has syncopated chords harmony/melody
 Form remains virtually unchanged
Composer: Sting
Performers: Andy Summers, Sting, Stewart Copeland
Murder By Numbers
Synchronicity
Record Facts:
• 1983
• 5th and final Police release
• Debuted No. 1 in US
• Recorded in AIR Studios
UK—also recorded the
Beatles, Rolling Stones,
Elton John
• Broke the streak at #1 by
MJ’s ‘Thriller’
• A&M Records Ltd
☆ Minor Key
☆Drums in complex meter: ¾
☆ Piano, Vocals, Bass complex duple meter:
12/8
☆Rondo Allegro form
☆Polyphony between guitar and bass
☆Repetitive form and theme
Composer: Andy Summers, Sting
Performers: Sting, Summers, Copeland
Englishman in New York
Nothing Like The Sun
Record Facts:
• Released January 1, 1987
• A&M Records Ltd
• Inspired by the death of his
mother Audry, in 1986
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Simple Meter in a Major Key
Two themes: Theme 2 begins at 1:53
Linear Drumming
High strings accenting off-beats (reggae element)
Song written for Novelist and Activist Quentin
Crisp
✖ Vocal polyphony @ 3:27
✖Composed by Sting who also plays Piano and bass
✖ Branford Marsalis on Soprano, & Manu Katsche
on percussion
Conclusion / Bibliography
• Sting has had a long a productive career
• Still making great compositions
• Major proponent for humanitarian as well as
ecological awareness