When it comes to British-born rock stars, there’s a very long list of names to choose from, but one name that’s stood out for decades is Sting. However, Sting isn’t just your typical British rock & roller, as the lead singer, a legendary band called “The Police” from 1977 to 1984, he’s one of the pioneers of ’80s new wave rock genre. Sting combines elements of reggae, jazz, rock, classical, worldbeat, and new-age to create sounds like no other rock musician. And over his illustrious career as both the frontman for The Police and as a solo artist, he’s earned over 17 Grammy Awards.
While Sting has a host of number one hits, “Fragile” is one of those songs that remains a personal favorite for many fans. The song was written as a tribute to Ben Linder, who was an American civil engineer working on a small hydroelectric dam in northern Nicaragua when he was murdered by Contras. The song speaks to the fragility of life and the pointlessness of violence when it costs something so precious as human life. Sting opened his All This Time concert, which took place on the night of the 9/11 attacks, with “Fragile.” In this video, we see Sting and Stevie Wonder performing “Fragile” at Sting’s 60th birthday celebration.
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Wonders’ soulful voice truly emotes the pain and sorrow within the song lyrics as Sting blends in a unique worldbeat style that gives it a Latin accent.
Image via YouTube
Watch these two incredible artists perform “Fragile” in the video below.