Reggatta de Blanc (instrumental)

"Reggatta de Blanc"
Instrumental by The Police
from the album Reggatta de Blanc
Released	5 October 1979
Recorded	Surrey Sound Studios, 1979
Genre	Post-punk, new wave
Length	3:06
Label	A&M Records
Songwriter(s)	Andy Summers, Sting, Stewart Copeland
Producer(s)	The Police and Nigel Gray
Audio
"Reggatta de Blanc" on YouTube

"Reggatta de Blanc" is a 1979 musical composition by The Police, and the title track on their second album. The instrumental evolved from improvisational stage jams during early Police performances of the song "Can't Stand Losing You".[1] The track won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1980.[2]

The song was developed from a live jam during the bridge of "Can't Stand Losing You."[3] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Mike Duquette rated it as the Police's 19th greatest song, saying that it "underlined the Police’s prowess as players."[3] Stewart Copeland uses a delay pedal on his drum kit, which he would also use on the song "Walking on the Moon", from the same album.[4]

Song appearances

• "Reggatta de Blanc" was used in The Ongoing History of New Music episode "Alt-Rock's Greatest Instrumentals" from 2003.

Personnel

• Sting – bass, scat vocals
• Stewart Copeland – drums
• Andy Summers – guitar

References

1. "Sting | News".
2. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
3. Duquette, Mike (May 6, 2022). "All 70 Police Songs Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
4. Golsen, Tyler (5 January 2023). "What's that Sound? Stewart Copeland's delayed drums on The Police's 'Walking on the Moon'". Far Out Magazine. The first album where Copeland managed to implement his new delay technique was on Reggatta de Blanc. The album's title track became a playground for Copeland's new mastery of effects, but most listeners would first hear Copeland's new delay fascination on the song 'Walking on the Moon'.