Black Hole Sun

"Black Hole Sun"
Single by Soundgarden from the album Superunknown
B-side	"My Wave"
Released	1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	Grunge
Length	5:18
Label	A&M
Writer	Chris Cornell
Producer	Michael Beinhorn, Soundgarden
Soundgarden singles chronology
"The Day I Tried to Live" (1994) "Black Hole Sun" (1994) "My Wave" (1994) Superunknown track listing "Head Down" (Track 6) "Black Hole Sun" (Track 7) "Spoonman" (Track 8) A-Sides track listing "The Day I Tried to Live" (Track 10) "Black Hole Sun" (Track 11) "Fell on Black Days" (Track 12)

"Black Hole Sun" is a song by Seattle grunge band Soundgarden. It originally appeared on their 1994 album Superunknown and was the third single released from it (the previous singles being "Spoonman" and "The Day I Tried to Live"). It would later appear on the band's greatest hits album A-Sides. It is arguably the band's most recognizable and most popular song. In 1995 it won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clear Channel included the song on its list of possibly inappropriate songs. It is also a playable song in the game Rock Band.

Contents 1 Lyrical meaning 2 Music video 3 Cover versions 4 Formats and track listing 4.1 Radio Promo CD 4.2 European/German CD #1 4.3 European CD #2 4.4 UK Box Set 4.5 Australian/German CD #2 4.6 Promo CD 4.7 UK Picture 7", Cassette Single 4.8 French Promo 12" 4.9 Jukebox 7" 5 Chart positions 6 External links

Lyrical meaning

Chris Cornell, the band's frontman, said once that he wrote the song after watching a set of horror movies and pictured a surreal setting, similar to that of the song's music video.

Music video

The surreal music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh, produced by Megan Hollister for Why Not Films (London), shot by Ivan Bartos, and features post production work by 525 Post Production (Hollywood) and Soho 601 Effects (London). It accompanied the song contained scenes that possibly reference the British TV series Doctor Who. Others assert that some scenes reference the films of David Lynch. After several weeks of airplay on MTV, a second version of the video was substituted containing more elaborate visual effects than the original. In 1995 it received the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video.

Cover versions

"Black Hole Sun" has been covered by Judith Owen (mainly in 5/4 time, in a dramatic break with the original), Paul Anka, Mimi Goese, Incubus, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Cibo Matto, jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, The Moog Cookbook, Alanis Morissette, Copeland, Peter Frampton, Handsome Hank And His Lonesome Boys as well as by former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell on his Euphoria Morning tour and Live Earth set. It was also performed by Cornell's former band, Audioslave, on their Out of Exile tour and during their Live 8 performance. A live June 13, 2007 solo acoustic performance by Cornell on The Howard Stern Show was rated as one of the 101 greatest musical moments in the program's history. It was also featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "The Alternative Polka" from Bad Hair Day. Bob Rivers's parody, "Asshole Son", is occasionally misattributed to Weird Al.

Formats and track listing

Radio Promo CD

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Black Hole Sun" (Edit)

European/German CD #1

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Like Suicide" (Acoustic)
3. "Kickstand" (Live)

European CD #2

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Live)
3. "My Wave" (Live)
4. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk Remix)

UK Box Set

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Beyond The Wheel" (Live)
3. "Fell On Black Days" (Live)
4. "Birth Ritual" (Demo)

Australian/German CD #2

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Live)
3. "Beyond The Wheel" (Live)

Promo CD

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Beyond The Wheel" (Live)
3. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk Remix)

UK Picture 7", Cassette Single

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "My Wave" (Live)
3. "Beyond The Wheel" (Live)

French Promo 12"

1. "Black Hole Sun"

Jukebox 7"

1. "Black Hole Sun"
2. "Spoonman"

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1994	Canadian National Airplay Charts	3
	Australian Singles Chart	6
	Irish Singles Chart	7
	UK Singles Chart	12
	US Billboard Hot 100 (Airplay)	24
	US Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
	US Modern Rock Tracks	2
	US Top 40 Mainstream	9
	German Singles Chart	26

Preceded by "Shine" by Collective Soul

Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single July 16, 1994 - August 27, 1994

Succeeded by "Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots

External links

• Lyrics
• All Music Guide review of "Black Hole Sun"
• Day and night version of the video compared with many screenshots and German comments

•  • e Soundgarden
Chris Cornell · Kim Thayil · Matt Cameron · Ben Shepherd Scott Sundquist · Hiro Yamamoto · Jason Everman
Studio albums	Ultramega OK · Louder than Love · Badmotorfinger · Superunknown · Down on the Upside
EPs	Screaming Life · Fopp · Loudest Love · SOMMS · Songs from the Superunknown
Compilations	Screaming Life/Fopp · A-Sides
Videos	Louder Than Live · Motorvision
Singles	"Hunted Down" · "Flower" · "Loud Love" · "Hands All Over" · "Room a Thousand Years Wide" · "Jesus Christ Pose" · "Outshined" · "Rusty Cage" · "Spoonman" · "The Day I Tried to Live" · "Black Hole Sun" · "My Wave" · "Fell on Black Days" · "Pretty Noose" · "Burden in My Hand" · "Blow Up the Outside World" · "Ty Cobb" · "Bleed Together"
Related articles	Discography · Grunge music · Skin Yard · Temple of the Dog · Pearl Jam · Alice Mudgarden · Singles · Hater · Wellwater Conspiracy · Audioslave