MEMORABLE MONDAYS: Sting

 You don't have to put on the red light! Sting did not accept any red lights in his career. Beginning with the Police but going his own direction, now is a good time to explore his longevity and career beyond. He was not always known as "Sting" though. His real name happens to be Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. He was born in Wallsend, Northumberland, England on October 2nd, 1951. He is the eldest of four children of a hairdresser and a milkman. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon waving at him from her Rolls-Royce, he grew a desire to leave the life near the shipyards and achieve a more glamorous life. 

He attended St. Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle, where he would visit night clubs to see Cream and Manfred Mann. He taught himself to sing and play music by listening to records at 78 rpm. After leaving school in 1969, he enrolled in the University of Warwick. He left after one term. He then spent time as a bus conductor, builiding labourer, and tax offier. He then went to the Northern Counties College of Education from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher. He taught at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years. 

He would play jazz whenever he got the chance with free time, playing with the Phoenix Jazzmen, Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit. This is where he would obtain his nickname Sting, because of his habit of wearing a black and yellow jumper with hooped stripes on the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought he looked like a bee, which prompted the name Sting. While he never legally changed his name, his own family calls him by the moniker as well.

His main music career really began with the Police. From 1973 to 1983, this is where Sting was known. While the band never formally broke up, they agreed to focus on solo activities after Synchronity. His first solo release came in 1985, the Dream of Blue Turtles. He returned to his jazzier roots and is named after a dream he had. This direction came after scrapping the more electrofunk in nature Torch Song sessions. The album received decent critical reviews, and was grammy nominated. Bruce Springsteen kept it from reaching number 1 in the US. During this time, Sting also was big on performing for Live Aid to raise money. 

Sting's Nothing Like the Sun was released 1987, infusing more than just jazz. Pop rock, soft rock, reggae, world, dance-rock, and funk rock were all included on this release. Andy Summers also participated in this release, along with Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet no. 130, which he used in song Sister Moon. The album was inspired by the death of his mother in 1986 and his participation in the Conspiracy of Hope Tour. Critics loved the release, some calling it a mood piece that could still be appreciated as background music. 

1991 brought The Soul Cages, a concept album inspired by the death of his father. He developed writer's block after this event in 1987, which he only overcome by dealing with the death through music. He mentioned how his father had regretted never becoming a sailor. 

Ten Summoner's Tales, his fourth release, is a combined pun of his family name and a character from the Canterbury Tales. It shifts to themes of love and morality, more upbeat than his previous two introspective works. It includes two US hits If I Ever Lose My Faith in You and Fields of Gold. A laser disc and VHS were released with live performances of the songs done at Lake House. 

Mercury Falling came in 1996 and was successful but not as much as prior releases. It explored many genres, which Sting felt was why mercurial was a good adjective for it. Regardless of the moderate success, this release had less than ideal critical reviews. After this, Sting took a short break from album releases.

He re-emerged in 1999 with Brand New Day. It was held as his commercial comeback, as it was critically loved and sold 3.5 million copies in the US. It won him several Grammy awards and was pushed by success of single Desert Rose. During this time he also found success with film soundtrack songs, winning a Golden Globe for Until... from the film Kate & Leopold. He also won an Emmy around this time for his A&E special Sting in Tuscany...All This Time. 

He released his next album Sacred Love in 2003. He experimented with more rock oriented beats along with hip-hop and smoother R&B. He and Mary J. Blige won a grammy for their duet on this release. This year he also released his autobiography, Broken Music. After this, he would shift in a slightly more experimental direction.

In 2006, he was part of the Gregg Kofi Brown album. He released Songs from the Labyrinth, featuring music of John Dowland and Edin Karamazov. It brought a newfound attention to classical music. His next release in 2009 was a Christmas themed release which included Christmas songs written by others, along with madrigals, folk songs, and religious hymns from past centuries. In 2010, he released Symphonicities, which includes reworked releases of his older music as classical symphonic compositions. Inspired by his childhood and his father, Sting worked on a musical The Last Ship, centered around the demise of the 1980s shipbuilding industry in England. It debuted in 2014, and transferred to Broadway in the autumn of that year. His next album, titled The Last Ship, was inspired by the musical of the same name. 

After much classical and broadway experimentation, Sting announced his first rock album in several years, 57th and 9th. Released in 2016, it includes 50,000, which was inspired by the death of Prince and also pays homage to David Bowie, Glenn Frey, and Lemmy who all died within late 2015 to 2016. The Empty Chair was inspired by American Journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped and killed by Daesh. In 2018, Sting released a reggae collaborative album with Shaggy. It won a grammy for best reggae album. In 2019, he released My Songs, another album of re-recorded reworked older material. 

He released Duets in 2021, including 17 tracks with collaborations with a variety of artists including Shaggy, Annie Lennox, and Mary J. Blige. His most recent album, The Bridge, also released in 2021. It was heavily inspired by the turmoil created in the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some compared it to his work with the Police.

If you have not ventured yet into the solo efforts of this very esteemed musician, do not be afraid to try. Sting does not hurt as bad as the bee moniker, and the smooth world and jazz influences of a lot of his work will leave you fixed in your listening position.