Back in Black (song)

"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.

Background
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."

Critical reception
In a retrospective piece on "Back in Black", Metal Hammer magazine hailed the song's riff as one of the greatest riffs ever and wrote, "There are rock songs that appeal to metal fans. And there are metal songs that appeal to rock fans. Then there is Back in Black – a rock and metal song that appeals to everybody, from dads to dudes, to little old ladies beating noisy kids over the heads with their sticks – and it all hangs on that monumental, no-nonsense, three-chord monster of a riff." Will Byers from The Guardian said "AC/DC's judicious use of space" in the song helped make it a "classic metal anthem".

The song was ranked No. 4 by VH1 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs. In 2009, it was named the second-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. The song was also ranked No. 187 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The same magazine has also ranked the song No. 29 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time", and wrote of the song in an accompanying piece: "Angus and Malcolm Young's dual-guitar masterpiece is the platonic ideal of hard rock."

In 2010, this song sits at No. 2 in Triple M's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Melbourne, Australia. The Top 5 were all AC/DC songs.

Commercial performance
As a single, "Back in Black" peaked in the U.S. at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981 as well as at 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. It officially charted on the UK charts after 31 years in release; peaking in at no. 27 because of the band's music becoming available on iTunes. It also reached no. 1 on the UK Rock Charts in the same week.

Sampling
In 1984, the Beastie Boys sampled "Back in Black" 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.

Personnel

 * Angus Young – lead guitar
 * Brian Johnson – lead vocals
 * Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, background vocals
 * Cliff Williams – bass guitar, background vocals
 * Phil Rudd – drums

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. Other versions include:
 * 1986 Boogie Down Productions, sampled without permission on "Dope Beat".
 * 1989 Red Hot Chili Peppers started using "Back in Black" as an intro and outro jam to some of their own songs at various live shows. In 1990 they played it as an ending jam to their own song, "Sexy Mexican Maid" on the television show, Night Music. In 1999 the band once again used "Back in Black" as an intro jam to their songs at a few of their live shows.
 * 1989 Skrewdriver on Warlord
 * 1995 Australian band Regurgitator, on Fuse Box: The Alternative Tribute.
 * 2001 Hayseed Dixie, on A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC.
 * 2003 Back in Baroque... The String Tribute to AC/DC.
 * 2004 Six Feet Under, on Graveyard Classics 2.
 * 2005 Wing, on Wing sings AC/DC.
 * 2007 Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue recorded live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
 * 2007 Those Darn Accordions, on Squeeze Machine.
 * 2010 Muse played the song on the third day of Big Day Out in Australia, with Nic Cester from Jet on vocals. Since then, Muse play the "Back in Black" solo as an outro to "Hysteria" in most live performances.
 * 2010 Carlos Santana on his cover album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time; this version features rapper Nas.
 * 2010 Skindred on Metal Hammer's The Metal Forge, Vol.2: A Tribute to AC/DC.
 * 2012 Anastacia on her covers album It's a Man's World.
 * 2014 Dinah Eastwood on "Back in Black - Single".

In popular culture

 * This song was used in TV shows and films including Black Hawk Down, School of Rock, The Sopranos, Supernatural, Iron Man, Megamind, Grudge Match, The Smurfs, The Karate Kid, The Muppets, Death Wish, and Ash vs Evil Dead, in addition to an episode of Alias, which originally aired after Super Bowl XXXVII on ABC.
 * "Back in Black" appeared in the trailers for the films Lilo & Stitch, Kung Fu Panda 3 and Death Wish as well as the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
 * The song is used as the entrance song for Iowa Hawkeyes football during home games at Kinnick Stadium.
 * The song was used in Riley's First Date?, a short film based on the 2015 film, Inside Out.
 * Wrestler Vampiro uses the song as his theme music.