Black Hole Sun

1994 single by SoundgardenTemplate:SHORTDESC:1994 single by Soundgarden

* psychedelic rock
* alternative rock

"**Black Hole Sun**" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, the song was released in 1994 as the third single from the band's fourth studio album *Superunknown* (1994). It is one of the band's most popular and recognizable songs. The song topped the *Billboard* Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it spent a total of seven weeks at number one. Despite peaking at number two on the *Billboard* Modern 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.

"Black Hole Sun" was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album *A-Sides* and also appeared on the 2010 compilation album *Telephantasm*.

## Origin and recording

"Black Hole Sun" was written by frontman Chris Cornell. In 2014, Cornell explained the song's origins to Uncut Magazine:

> I wrote it in my head driving home from Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, a 35–40 minute drive from Seattle. 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 a Dictaphone. 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.
>
>

Cornell said that he wrote the song in about 15 minutes. He used a Gretsch 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." Cornell came up with the song while using a Leslie speaker. Guitarist Kim Thayil said that the Leslie model 16 speaker was perfect for the song as "it's very Beatlesque and has a distinctive sound. It ended up changing the song completely." 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." The song was performed in a slightly sharp drop D tuning, similar to the tuning used on the band's first single, "Hunted Down". Drummer Matt Cameron called the song "a huge departure". Credit is due to Michael Beinhorn and Brendan O'Brien, producer and recording engineer, respectively.

Appearing on The Pods & Sods Network in July 2017, Beinhorn detailed the process of recording *Superunknown* 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."

## Composition

Musically, "Black Hole Sun" has been described as grunge, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, and hard rock. Regarding the song's lyrics, Cornell stated, "It's just sort of a surreal dreamscape, a weird, play-with-the-title kind of song." 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." 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. The chorus 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." 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." 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.
>
>

## Release and critical reception

"Black Hole Sun" was released in the summer of 1994 and became the most successful song from *Superunknown* on the American rock charts and arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song. It appeared on *Billboard* magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 30. The following week it debuted on the Top 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 the *Billboard* Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the *Billboard* Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song spent a total of seven weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock chart. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, "Black Hole Sun" received the award for Best Hard Rock Performance and received a nomination for Best Rock Song.

Outside the United States, the single was released in Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart. It remained in the top ten for three weeks and became the band's highest charted song in Canada. "Black Hole Sun" reached the UK Top 20 and was the last single from the album which charted in the UK Top 20. The song remains the band's highest charting single in the United Kingdom to date. "Black Hole Sun" debuted at number ten in Australia but quickly descended the chart, however widespread airplay and a promotional visit to Australia stimulated a resurgence of interest in *Superunknown*. "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 ten success in Australia, France, and Ireland. It topped the Icelandic Singles Chart for a week, and was a moderate top 20 success in Sweden. The single has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Greg Prato of AllMusic called the song "one of the few bright spots" of the summer of 1994 when "the world was still reeling from Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain's suicide the previous April". He said, "The song had a psychedelic 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." Ann Powers of *Blender* proclaimed that "Cornell's fixation with the Beatles pays off with the hit single 'Black Hole Sun' ". Music writer James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "Easily the most commercial single the US band have released to date". Jon Pareles of *The New York Times* said, "The Beatles' techniques—fuzz-toned low chords, legato lead-guitar hooks and lumpy Ringo Starr-style drumming...are linked to Lennon-style melody in 'Black Hole Sun'." J.D. Considine of *Rolling 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."

The solo for "Black Hole Sun", performed by Thayil, was ranked number 63 on *Guitar World*'s list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos", and number 56 on *Total Guitar'*s list of the "100 Hottest Guitar Solos". The song was included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 25. It was also included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" at number 77. According to Nielsen 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. In 2017, *Billboard* ranked the song number four on their list of the 15 greatest Soundgarden songs, and in 2021, *Kerrang* ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest Soundgarden songs.

## Music video

The surreal and apocalyptic music video for "Black Hole Sun" was directed by British video director Howard Greenhalgh, 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 comically exaggerated grins, which are eventually swallowed up when the Sun suddenly turns into a black hole, while the band performs the song somewhere in an open field. In the video, Cornell can be seen wearing a fork necklace given to him by Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon. 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." Thayil said that the video was one of the few Soundgarden videos the band was satisfied with.

The video was released in June 1994. After several weeks of airplay on MTV, a second version of the video was substituted containing more elaborate visual effects than the original, including the addition of a computer-generated black hole. The music video for "Black Hole Sun" became a hit on MTV and received the award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. In 1995, it received the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video. The video is available on the CD-ROM *Alive in the Superunknown*.

## Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to "Black Hole Sun" is adapted in part from Acclaimed Music.

## Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:

**Promotional CD (US)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Black Hole Sun" (edit)  – 4:31

**CD (Europe and Germany)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Like Suicide" (acoustic)  – 6:11
3. "Kickstand" (live) (Cornell, Kim Thayil)  – 1:58
	* Recorded live on August 20, 1993, at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York.

**CD (Europe)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (live) (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Thayil)  – 7:19
	* Recorded live on August 11, 1993, at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota.
3. "My Wave" (live) (Cornell, Thayil)  – 4:34
	* Recorded live on August 20, 1993, at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York.
4. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk remix)  – 6:55

**Box Set (UK)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Beyond the Wheel" (live)  – 5:56
	* Recorded live on August 18, 1993, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Canada.
3. "Fell on Black Days" (live)  – 4:45
	* Recorded live on August 16, 1993, at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.
4. "Birth Ritual" (demo) (Cornell, Cameron, Thayil)  – 5:50

**CD (Australia and Germany)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (live) (Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Thayil)  – 7:19
3. "Beyond the Wheel" (live)  – 5:54
	* Recorded live on August 18, 1993, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

**Promotional CD (US)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Beyond the Wheel" (live)  – 5:53
	* Recorded live on August 18, 1993, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
3. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk remix)  – 6:55

**7" vinyl (UK) and cassette (UK)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "My Wave" (live) (Cornell, Thayil)  – 4:34
	* Recorded live on August 20, 1993, at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York.
3. "Beyond the Wheel" (live)  – 5:54
	* Recorded live on August 18, 1993, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

**Promotional 12" vinyl (France)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18

**Jukebox 7" vinyl (US)**

1. "Black Hole Sun"  – 5:18
2. "Spoonman"  – 4:06

## Charts

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1994 weekly chart performance for "Black Hole Sun"
 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) | 1

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2017 weekly chart performance for "Black Hole Sun"

1994 year-end chart performance for "Black Hole Sun"
 US Alternative Songs (*Billboard*) | 1

2017 year-end chart performance for "Black Hole Sun"

Decade-end charts

Decade-end chart performance for "Black Hole Sun"

## Certifications

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## In popular culture

"Black Hole Sun" is a playable song in the 2007 video game *Rock Band*.

The song is also available in the 2008 video games *Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore* and *SingStar 90s*, for the PlayStation 2. *Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock* features the song in its downloadable content library, and it is a playable track in the TV mode of Guitar Hero Live. The post-humous cover album released by Chris Cornell, *No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1*, was named after a lyric in this song. The song was featured in "The Alternative Polka" from "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1996 album, *Bad Hair Day*.

A cover version of the song by Swann and Noela was featured over the closing credits in the neo-noir thriller *A Walk Among the Tombstones*. Another cover in the style of lounge music was performed by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

## References

1. ↑ Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gardener's Question Time". *Kerrang!*. March 1, 1997.
3. ↑ "Chris Cornell – Cornell Gets Prized Guitars Back From Ex-wife". Contactmusic.com. March 30, 2009.
4. ↑ Gilbert, Jeff. "Sleepless in Seattle". *Guitar World*. May 1994.
5. ↑ Brambarger, Bradley. "The Modern Age", *Billboard*. June 8, 1996
6. ↑ EM54 – Remembering Chris Cornell Part 1 (July 25, 2017).
7. ↑ Template:Cite journal
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10. ↑ Gerard, Chris (July 24, 2016). The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '90s - Part 4 (40 - 21).
11. ↑ Yglesias, Matthew (May 21, 2007). The Ultimate Nineties Alt-Rock Playlist.
12. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (January 4, 2010). Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Announces Reunion.
13. ↑ "Soundgarden: The Badass Seed". *RIP*. April 1994.
14. ↑ Crisafulli, Chuck. "Rogues Gallery". *Request*. June 1996.
15. ↑ Clay, Jennifer. "Soundgarden: Painting Beautiful Pictures". *RIP*. June 1996.
16. ↑ True, Everett. "Journey into the Superunknown". *Melody Maker*. March 19, 1994.
17. ↑ *Rolling Stone*. January 12, 1995.
18. ↑ 37th Grammy Awards – 1995. Rockonthenet.com.
19. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [[[:Template:AllMusic]] Soundgarden > Biography]. *Allmusic*.
20. ↑ Prato, Greg. [[[:Template:AllMusic]] "Black Hole Sun > Review"]. Allmusic. Retrieved on May 19, 2008.
21. ↑ Powers, Ann. "Soundgarden: *Superunknown*". *Blender*.
22. ↑ Masterton, James (August 14, 1994). Week Ending August 20th 1994. Retrieved on September 8, 2021.
23. ↑ Pareles, Jon. "RECORDINGS VIEW; Lightening Up On the Gloom In Grunge". *The New York Times*. March 6, 1994. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
24. ↑ Consideine, J.D. "Soundgarden: *Superunknown*" Template:Webarchive. *Rolling Stone*. July 31, 1997.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "100 Greatest Guitar Solos". *Guitar World*. 2007.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "100 Hottest Guitar Solos". *Total Guitar*. May 2006.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s. VH1.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". VH1.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Trapp, Philip (January 14, 2020). Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio.
30. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (May 18, 2017). The 15 Greatest Soundgarden Songs: Critic’s Picks. *Billboard*. Retrieved on April 12, 2022.
31. ↑ Law, Sam (May 10, 2021). The 20 greatest Soundgarden songs – ranked. *Kerrang*. Retrieved on April 12, 2022.
32. ↑ Howard Greenhalgh: Exclusive Interview. enigmacretu.com.
33. ↑ "Interview With Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden". *Spin* Online. November 15, 1995.
34. ↑ Maloof, Rich. "Kim Thayil of Soundgarden: Down on the Upbeat". *Guitar Magazine*. July 1996.
35. ↑ Soundgarden music videos. Music Video Database.
36. ↑ 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. Rockonthenet.com.
37. ↑ Clio Awards Search Archive. clioawards.com.
38. ↑ "Black Hole Sun" accolades. Acclaimed Music.
39. ↑ Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (September 15, 2021).
40. ↑ 100 Greatest Singles of All Time. *Kerrang!*.
41. ↑ The 1001 Best Songs Ever. *Q*.
42. ↑ The 100 (+300) Greatest Songs of All Time. *The Movement*.
43. ↑ The 77 Best Singles of the 90s. *The Movement*.
44. ↑ The 100 Best Singles of All Time. *Juice*.
45. ↑ Best – Singles of the Year. www.poplist.de.
46. ↑ Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun Rock & Pop Chile
47. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Schlüter, Johan (October 7, 1994). "Official Danish Singles Chart". *IFPI Report* (Week 40). IFPI Danmark.
48. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
49. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006) (in fi). *Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972* (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5. http://suomenlistalevyt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/sol-spa.html.
50. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (29.9.–5.10. '94)". *Dagblaðið Vísir* (in Icelandic). September 29, 1994. p. 16. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
51. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). *Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010*. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
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53. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Árslistinn 1994". *Dagblaðið Vísir* (in Icelandic). January 2, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
54. ↑ Jaarlijsten 1994 (nl). Dutch Top 40.
55. ↑ Jaaroverzichten – Single 1994 (nl). MegaCharts.
56. ↑ Årslista Singlar, 1994 (sv). Sverigetopplistan.
57. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Macdonald, Patrick (December 23, 1994). "Music Notes". *The Seattle Times*. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
58. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
59. ↑ Rock Band Official Website: Song List.
60. ↑ Rosenberg, Adam. American Idol Karaoke Revolution Encore Review. UGO Networks.
61. ↑ Miller, Greg. "SingStar '90s Track List Revealed". IGN. February 1, 2008.
62. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
63. ↑ Music | Nouela.
64. ↑ A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) - IMDb.
65. ↑ Steve and Eydie: Black Hole Sun (1997) (en).

## External links

* "Black Hole Sun" (Official audio) on YouTube
* "Black Hole Sun" (Official music video) on YouTube

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