| "Black Hole Sun" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single bySoundgarden | ||||
| from the albumSuperunknown | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | May 13, 1994 (1994-5-13) | |||
| Studio | Bad Animals, Seattle, Washington | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:18 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Chris Cornell | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Soundgarden singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Black Hole Sun" onYouTube | ||||
"Black Hole Sun" is a song by American rock bandSoundgarden. Written by frontmanChris Cornell, the song was released in May 1994 byA&M Records as the third single from the band's fourth studio album,Superunknown (1994). Considered to be the band'ssignature song, it topped the USBillboardAlbum Rock Tracks chart, where it spent a total of seven weeks at number one. Despite peaking at number two on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart, "Black Hole Sun" finished as the number-one track of 1994 for that listing. Worldwide, the single reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, and Ireland, while in Iceland, it reached number one. The accompanying music video was directed byHoward Greenhalgh.
"Black Hole Sun" was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits albumA-Sides; it also appeared on the 2010 compilation albumTelephantasm. In 2021,Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 368 on their list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Black Hole Sun" was written by frontmanChris Cornell. In 2014, Cornell explained the song's origins toUncut Magazine:
I wrote it in my head driving home fromBear Creek Studio inWoodinville, a 35–40 minute drive fromSeattle. It sparked from something a news anchor said on TV and I heard wrong. I heard 'blah blah blah black hole sun blah blah blah'. I thought that would make an amazing song title, but what would it sound like? It all came together, pretty much the whole arrangement including the guitar solo that's played beneath the riff.I spent a lot of time spinning those melodies in my head so I wouldn't forget them. I got home and whistled it into aDictaphone. The next day I brought it into the real world, assigning a couple of key changes in the verse to make the melodies more interesting. Then I wrote the lyrics and that was similar, a stream of consciousness based on the feeling I got from the chorus and title.[1]
Cornell said that he wrote the song in about 15 minutes.[2] He used aGretsch guitar to write the song, and commented, "I wrote the song thinking the band wouldn't like it—then it became the biggest hit of the summer."[3] Cornell came up with the song while using aLeslie speaker. GuitaristKim Thayil said that the Leslie model 16 speaker was perfect for the song as "it's veryBeatlesque and has a distinctive sound. It ended up changing the song completely."[4] Thayil said that the song "wasn't safe as milk, but it wasn't glass in someone's eye either. It was the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. Now it's the 'Dream On' of our set."[5] The song was performed in a slightly sharpdrop D tuning, similar to the tuning used on the band's first single, "Hunted Down". DrummerMatt Cameron called the song "a huge departure". Credit is due toMichael Beinhorn andBrendan O'Brien, producer and recording engineer, respectively.
Appearing on The Pods & Sods Network in July 2017, Beinhorn detailed the process of recordingSuperunknown and shared his reaction to first hearing "Black Hole Sun": "I think for the rest of my entire life, until I draw my last breath, I'll never ever forgot how I felt when they started playing that song. From the very first few notes, I felt like I'd been hit by a thunderbolt. I was just absolutely stunned. What in the world is this? I get goosebumps thinking about it now."[6]
Musically, "Black Hole Sun" has been described asgrunge,[8][9]psychedelic rock,[10]alternative rock,[11]hard rock,[12] andstoner rock.[13] Regarding the song's lyrics, Cornell stated, "It's just sort of a surreal dreamscape, a weird, play-with-the-title kind of song."[14] He also said that "lyrically it's probably the closest to me just playing with words for words' sake, of anything I've written. I guess it worked for a lot of people who heard it, but I have no idea how you'd begin to take that one literally."[15] In another interview he elaborated further, stating, "It's funny because hits are usually sort of congruent, sort of an identifiable lyric idea, and that song pretty much had none. Thechorus lyric is kind of beautiful and easy to remember. Other than that, I sure didn't have an understanding of it after I wrote it. I was just sucked in by the music and I was painting a picture with the lyrics. There was no real idea to get across."[16] Commenting upon how the song was misinterpreted as being positive, Cornell said, "No one seems to get this, but 'Black Hole Sun' is sad. But because the melody is really pretty, everyone thinks it's almost chipper, which is ridiculous."[17] When asked about the line, "Times are gone for honest men", Cornell said:
It's really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. It's going to become more and more difficult, and it's going to create more and more disillusioned people who become dishonest and angry and are willing to fuck the next guy to get what they want. There's so much stepping on the backs of other people in our profession. We've been so lucky that we've never had to do that. Part of it was because of our own tenacity, and part of it was because we were lucky.[18]
"Black Hole Sun" was released as a single in mid-1994. It became the most successful song fromSuperunknown on American rock charts, and became the band's best-known song overall.[19] It appeared onBillboard magazine'sHot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 30. The following week it debuted on theTop 40 Mainstream, where it peaked at number nine in its eighth week and remained on the chart until its 20th week. The song peaked at number one on theBillboardMainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart. The song spent a total of seven weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock chart. At the1995 Grammy Awards, "Black Hole Sun" received the award forBest Hard Rock Performance and received a nomination forBest Rock Song.[20]
Outside the United States, the single was released in Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top 10 on theRPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It remained in the top 10 for three weeks and became the band's highest-charting song in Canada. "Black Hole Sun" reached the UK top 20 and was the last single from the album that charted in the UK top 20; it remains the band's highest-charting single in the UK. "Black Hole Sun" debuted at number 10 in Australia but quickly descended the chart; however, widespreadairplay and a promotional visit to Australia stimulated a resurgence of interest inSuperunknown. "Black Hole Sun" would peak at number six on the Australian Singles Chart. "Black Hole Sun" reached the top 30 in Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, and was a top-10 success in France and Ireland. It topped theIcelandic Singles Chart for a week and was a moderate top-20 success in Sweden. The single has sold over three million copies worldwide.[21]
Greg Prato ofAllMusic called the song "one of the few bright spots" of mid-1994, when "the world was still reeling fromNirvana leaderKurt Cobain'ssuicide the previous April". He said, "The song had apsychedelic edge to it (especially evident in the verse's guitar part), as the composition shifted between sedate melodicism and gargantuan guitar riffs. The lyrics were classic Chris Cornell—lines didn't exactly make sense on paper but did within the song."[22] Ann Powers ofBlender proclaimed that "Cornell's fixation with theBeatles pays off with the hit single 'Black Hole Sun' ".[23] In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton wrote, "Easily the most commercial single the US band have released to date".[24]Jon Pareles ofThe New York Times said, "The Beatles' techniques—fuzz-toned low chords, legato lead-guitar hooks and lumpyRingo Starr-style drumming...are linked toLennon-style melody in 'Black Hole Sun'."[25] Roger Morton fromNME named it "the best moment" from their album, "a melodramatic downer ballad, whose bleakness is offsett by some curious psychedelic guitar figures."[26]J.D. Considine ofRolling Stone stated, "With its yearning, Lennonesque melody and watery,Harrison-style guitar, 'Black Hole Sun' is a wonderful exercise in Beatleisms; trouble is, it's not a very good song, offering more in the way of mood and atmosphere than melodic direction."[27]Roy Wilkinson fromSelect noted "the descending corkscrew melody" of the song.[28]
The solo for "Black Hole Sun", performed by Thayil, was ranked number 63 onGuitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos",[29] and number 56 onTotal Guitar's list of the "100 Hottest Guitar Solos".[30] The song was included onVH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 25.[31] It was also included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" at number 77.[32] According toNielsen Music's year-end report for 2019, "Black Hole Sun" was the ninth most-played song of the decade on mainstream rock radio with 125,000 spins. All of the songs in the top 10 were from the 1990s.[33] In 2017,Billboard ranked the song number four on their list of the 15 greatest Soundgarden songs,[34] and in 2021,Kerrang ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest Soundgarden songs.[35]
Thesurreal andapocalyptic music video for "Black Hole Sun" was directed by British video directorHoward Greenhalgh,[36] produced by Megan Hollister for Why Not Films (London, England), shot by Ivan Bartos, and features post-production work by 525 Post Production (Hollywood, California) and Soho 601 Effects (London). The video follows a suburban neighborhood and its vain inhabitants with grotesquely exaggerated grins, which are eventually swallowed up when the Sun suddenly turns into ablack hole, while the band performs the song somewhere in an open field. In the video, Cornell is wearing a fork necklace given to him byShannon Hoon ofBlind Melon.[2] In an online chat, the band stated that the video "was entirely the director's idea", and added, "Our take on it was that at that point in making videos, we just wanted to pretend to play and not look that excited about it."[37] They said that the video was one of the few Soundgarden videos the band was satisfied with.[38]
The video was released in June 1994.[39] After several weeks of airplay on MTV, a second version of the video was substituted containing more elaboratevisual effects than the original, including the addition of acomputer-generated black hole. The music video for "Black Hole Sun" became a hit on MTV and received the award forBest Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994MTV Video Music Awards.[40] In 1995, it received theClio Award for Alternative Music Video.[41] The video is available on theCD-ROMAlive in the Superunknown.
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guitar World | United States | "100 Greatest Guitar Solos"[29] | 2007 | 63 |
| VH1 | United States | "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s"[31] | 2007 | 25 |
| VH1 | United States | "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[32] | 2008 | 77 |
| Robert Dimery | United States | 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die[42] | 2010 | * |
| Rolling Stone | United States | "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[43] | 2021 | 368 |
| Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[citation needed] | 2002 | 49 |
| Q | United Kingdom | "The 1001 Best Songs Ever"[44] | 2003 | 543 |
| Total Guitar | United Kingdom | "100 Hottest Guitar Solos"[30] | 2006 | 56 |
| The Movement | New Zealand | "The 100 (+300) Greatest Songs of All Time"[citation needed] | 2004 | 80 |
| The Movement | New Zealand | "The 77 Best Singles of the 90s"[citation needed] | 2004 | 32 |
| Pure Pop | Mexico | "The 100 Best Singles of All Time"[citation needed] | 2003 | 100 |
| Spex | Germany | "Singles of the Year"[45] | 1994 | 15 |
| Rock & Pop | Chile | "Rock&Pop 20 Años 200 Canciones"[46] | 2013 | 174 |
* denotes an unordered list.
All songs were written byChris Cornell except where noted.
CD (Europe and Germany)
CD (Europe)
Box set (UK)
CD (Australia and Germany)
7-inch vinyl (UK) and cassette (UK)
7-inch vinyl (US)
Personnel are taken from the liner notes ofSuperunknown.[47]
Soundgarden
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[88] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[89] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[90] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[91] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[92] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[93] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 13, 1994 | — | A&M | [94] |
| United Kingdom | August 8, 1994 |
| [95] |
"Black Hole Sun" is on the base set list for the originalRock Band game.[96]
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock features the song in its downloadable content library, and it is a playable track in the TV mode ofGuitar Hero Live.[97]
Steve and Eydie recorded alounge version for the albumLounge-A-Palooza (1997).
Noviembre 1ra Quincena
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