Ya gotta admit, The Police had us fooled! They showed up on the music scene right when punk was thrashing its way across the U. K. But instead of being DIY nihilists, this trio of two Brits and a Yank soon began astonishing us with their creativity and skill. But what would you expect from a prog rock drummer (Stewart Copeland) and a jazz fusion bass player (Sting) who teamed up with a 12-year veteran of the music business with a degree in classical guitar (Andy Summers). When it came to influences, The Police had more to draw on than just disillusionment and angst. They also had reggae, jazz, British pop, and Béla Bartók. And what they did with all that inspiration was distill it into a fierce collection of rock gems and that helped them sell over 75 million records.