After his tenure with The Police, Gordon Sumner (better known simply as Sting) launched a solo career that continued decorating the charts with his songs. His first arrived in 1985 with "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," a timely tune for someone who just exited their band. The song became Sting's biggest hit as a solo artist, reaching #3. He would see the top spot in 1994 as part of a superstar trio. With the help of Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, Sting reached #1 for three weeks with "All For Love" from The Three Musketeers. In-between those hits, Sting racked up an impressive number of other Top 40 entries including "Fortress Around Your Heart" (#8), "We'll Be Together" (#7), "All This Time" (#5), and "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" (#17), which won him a Grammy for Pop Male Vocal. Heading into the new millennium, Sting scored a Top 20 hit for the third decade in a row when "Desert Rose" reached #17. He then disappeared from the charts until 2006 when a duet with Sheryl Crow, "Always On Your Side," peaked at #33. To date, he has not returned. "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" is a hugely underrated song that actually appeared on the lower end of the Top 100 twice. Its original entry went to #94 in 1996, but it resurfaced as a tweaked duet with country star Toby Keith in 1997, making it to #84.
Rod Stewart is one of the biggest stars of the rock era. Both as a solo artist and a member of Faces, he's racked up such an impressive string of hits that he is ranked the 16th most successful chart artist of all-time. Across three decades, he's managed to rank in the top 30: he ranked #22 in the 70s, #23 in the 80s, and #16 in the 90s. He became a Grammy Legend Award winner in 1989 and was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1994. Stewart started his chart run back in 1971 with the monster hit "Maggie May," which spent five weeks at #1. He'd return to the #1 for eight weeks in 1976 with "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)", four weeks in 1979 with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?", and one last time for three weeks in 1994 with "All For Love." "All For Love" was featured in the movie The Three Musketeers, so it was appropriate to sing this song with two other superstars: Bryan Adams and Sting. Stewart's final appearance on the Top 100 was in 1998 when "Ooh La La" reached #39. This tune was first recorded with Faces back in 1973, kind of bringing things full circle. Stewart then crooned his way through the American Songbook series, which sold him tons more records despite a lack of chart entries. Stewart eventually returned to rock and pop, and it is a shame there isn't room on the Top 100 for his songs. "Beautiful Morning," from his 2013 record "Time," seems just as much of a contender as his classics.
A rock trio from England that arrested everyone's attention: Sting (Gordon Sumner), Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland, otherwise known as The Police. Each a musical genius in his own right, when working together they created magic magic magic. The Police achieved their first chart hit with the classic cut, "Roxanne," which went to #32 in 1979. Many of the band's other early classics never charted, including greats like "So Lonely," "Can't Stand Losing You," "Walking On The Moon," and "Invisible Sun." No matter, they band scored plenty of hits in the early 80s that made them the 49th most successful artist of the decade. Their final studio album, 1983's "Synchronicity" yielded four top 40 hits, including the smash "Every Breath You Take," which held the top spot for an impressive 8 weeks. At the height of their career, the band called it quits and Sting pursued a wildly successful solo career. Copeland started a new band called Animal Logic. "Next To You" is the lead off track to the band's debut album from 1978, "Outlandos D'Armour." It remains my favorite Police album because the band just sounds like they are having pure fun jamming to all kinds of musical styles in their dad's garage.
