learn to play Black hole sun by

“It is really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. It's going to get harder and harder, 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 is so much stepping on the backs of others in our profession. We were so lucky that we never had to do that. Part of it was our own tenacity, and part of it was luck.”

Learn Black hole sun: The exit

Learn Black Hole Sun: The US release

“Black Hole Sun” was released in mid-1994 and became the most successful song from the album Superunknown on the US rock charts, becoming the band's most recognizable and popular song. It charted on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay, reaching the top 30. The following week, it debuted on the Mainstream Top 40, where it reached number nine in eight weeks and remained on the chart until his 20th week.

The song reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It remained at the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for seven weeks. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, “Black Hole Sun” won Best Hard Rock Performance and was nominated for Best Rock Song.

Learn Black hole sun: The international release

Overseas, the single was released in Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top 10 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, remaining in the top 10 for three weeks and becoming the group's highest-charting song in Canada. “Black Hole Sun” reached the top 20 in the UK and was the last single from the album to make the top 20 in the UK. It remains the band's highest-charting song in the UK. In Australia, the song debuted at number ten but quickly tumbled down the chart.

Learn Black hole sun: The release in Australia

However, heavy airplay and a promotional visit to Australia stimulated renewed interest in Superunknown. “Black Hole Sun” reached number six on the Australian singles chart. In the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand, “Black Hole Sun” reached the top 30, and it was a top 10 hit in France and Ireland. It held the top spot on the Icelandic singles chart for one week and was a moderate top 20 hit in Sweden. The single sold over three million copies worldwide.

Learn Black hole sun: Comparisons

Greg Prato of AllMusic called the song “one of the few high points” of mid-1994, when “the world was still reeling from the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in April of that year ”. He stated that “the song had a psychedelic feel (especially evident in the guitar part of the verse), as the composition moved from a serene melody to huge guitar riffs. The lyrics were pure Chris Cornell – the lines didn't really make sense on paper, but they worked in the song. Ann Powers of Blender proclaimed that "Cornell's Beatles fixation pays off with the hit single 'Black Hole Sun'".

Learn Black Hole Sun: Reviews

James Masterton wrote in his weekly comments on the UK chart, “Easily the most commercial single the American group has released to date”. Jon Pareles of The New York Times said: “The Beatles' techniques – fuzz-like bass chords, legato lead guitar hooks and Ringo Starr-heavy drumming…are tied to the Lennon-style melody in 'Black Hole Sun'”. Roger Morton of NME called it the “best moment” of their album, “a downbeat melodramatic ballad, whose darkness is offset by curious psychedelic guitar figures”.

JD Considine of Rolling Stone said: “With its haunting, Lennon-like melody and Harrison-like guitar, 'Black Hole Sun' is a wonderful exercise in Beatlesian style; the problem is that it’s not a very good song, offering more in terms of mood and atmosphere than melodic direction.”