Back in Black (song)

"Back in Black"
Single by AC/DC
from the album Back in Black
A-side "What Do You Do for Money Honey"
Released 21 December 1980 (1980-12-21)
Format 7 inch
Recorded Compass Point Studios, The Bahamas, spring 1980
Genre Hard rock[1]
Length 4:15
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Robert John "Mutt" Lange
AC/DC singles chronology
"Hells Bells"
(1980)		 "Back in Black"
(1980)		 "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"
(1981)

"Hells Bells"
(1980)		 "Back in Black"
(1980)		 "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"
(1981)
Alternative cover

Cover of the Spanish release
Audio sample
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Music video
"Back In Black" on YouTube

"Back in Black" is a song by AC/DC, appearing as the first track on side two of their 1980 album of the same name. Known for its opening guitar riff, the song was AC/DC's tribute to their former singer Bon Scott. His replacement Brian Johnson recalled to Mojo magazine in 2009 that when the band asked him to write a lyric for this song, "they said, 'it can't be morbid – it has to be for Bon and it has to be a celebration.'" He added: "I thought, 'Well no pressure there, then' (laughs). I just wrote what came into my head, which at the time seemed like mumbo, jumbo. 'Nine lives. Cats eyes. Abusing every one of them and running wild.' The boys got it though. They saw Bon's life in that lyric."[2] It peaked in the U.S. at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981 and was No. 51 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart, which debuted in March 1981. "Back in Black" received the RIAA's Master Ringtone Sales Award (Gold and Platinum) in 2006 and reached 2× Platinum status in 2007.

The song was ranked No. 4 by VH1 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs,[3] and in 2009, it was named the second greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[4] It was also ranked No. 187 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[5] The same magazine has also ranked "Back in Black" No. 29 on "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".[1]

In 2010, this song came No. 2 in Triple M's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Melbourne, Australia. The top five were all AC/DC songs.[6]

It officially charted on the UK charts after 31 years in release; peaking in at no. 27[7] as a result of AC/DC music becoming available on iTunes. It also reached no. 1 on the UK Rock Charts in the same week.[8]

Personnel

Sampling

In 1984, the Beastie Boys sampled "Back in Black"[1] without permission for their song "Rock Hard". In 1999, when they wished to include it on an upcoming CD compilation release, they sought permission but AC/DC refused. Mike D of the Beastie Boys quoted Malcolm Young's reason for refusing as: "'Nothing against you guys, but we just don't endorse sampling.'"[9]

The song "Rock'n Roll Dance ('92 Heavy Mix)" from Seo Taiji and Boys' 1992 self-titled debut album samples "Back in Black". Eminem released a version of his 1999 hit, "My Name Is", with "Back in Black" as the bassline. The song was also heavily sampled by the Evolution Control Committee in creating the song "Rocked by Rape". Art Brut usually began their song "Formed a Band" with the intro to "Back in Black" when they played it live. A recorded version of this can be found on their 2006 Nag Nag Nag Nag EP. In 2010, Limp Bizkit samples the song during live performances of "My Way."

Covers and other versions

Two live versions of the song later appeared on both versions of the album Live, as well as the Australian tour edition of Stiff Upper Lip. It has been covered by a number of artists, including Living Colour and Shakira.[1] Other versions include:

Use in the media

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 37
US Billboard Top Tracks[13] 51
US Cash Box[14] 39
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 65
France (SNEP)[16] 58
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[17] 28
South Korea (Gaon Karaoke International Chart)[18] 65
UK Rock & Metal (Official Charts Company)[8] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 27
US Digital Songs (Billboard)[19] 20
US Hard Rock Digital Songs (Billboard)[20] 1
US Hot 100 Recurrents (Billboard)[21] 14
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 100

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23]
(Ringtone)		 2× Platinum 80,000^
Italy (FIMI)[24] Platinum 50,000double-dagger
Mexico (AMPROFON)[25] Gold 30,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 250,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[27]
(Mastertone)		 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.. Rolling Stone.
  2. ↑ "Back In Black by AC/DC". Songfacts. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "40 Greatest Metal Songs (40 – 31)". Archived from the original on 13 September 2006.. VH1. MTV Networks. 1–4 May 2006.
  4. ↑ "Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs". Archived from the original on 4 January 2009.. VH1. Prefix Magazine. 1–5 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Back in Black". Archived from the original on 28 May 2007.. Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004.
  6. ↑ "Triple M's Ultimate Rock 500". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012.. Triple M.
  7. 1 2 "Archive Chart: 2012-12-01" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 "2012 Top 40 Rock & Metal Singles Archive – 1st December 2012". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "AC/DC nix Beastie Boys sample" (LexisNexis Academic Search). NME. 11 November 1999. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  10. ↑ "Jazz Fest Live – live recordings from New Orleans Jazz Fest". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011.. Jazz Fest Live.
  11. ↑ Bianco, Robert (23 January 2003). "Super 'Alias' will bowl you over". USA Today. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "AC/DC's Music Featured In 'Riley's First Date' Short Film". Blabbermouth.net. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Back in Black – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 7, 1981". Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.. Cash Box magazine.
  15. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 3rd December 2012" (PDF). ARIA. Pandora. 4 January 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – AC/DC – Back in Black" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-12-01". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  18. ↑ (in Korean) "GAON 노래방 CHART – 2013년 4월 3주차". Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.. Gaon Music Chart.
  19. ↑ "AC/DC – Chart history" Billboard Digital Songs for AC/DC. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Hard Rock Digital Songs: January 12, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Hot 100 Recurrents: December 8, 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – AC/DC – Back in Black". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  23. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – AC/DC – Back in Black". Music Canada.
  24. ↑ "Italian single certifications – AC/DC – Back in Black" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  25. ↑ "Certificaciones – AC/DC" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.
  26. ↑ "British single certifications – AC/DC – Back in Black". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Back in Black in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  27. ↑ "American single certifications – AC/DC – Back in Black". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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