"Blue on Black" | ||||
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Single by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band | ||||
from the album Trouble Is... | ||||
B-side |
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Released | April 7, 1998 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:30 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Jerry Harrison | |||
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band singles chronology | ||||
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"Blue on Black" is a song by American blues rock group Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Written by Shepherd with Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, it was originally released on their second studio album, Trouble Is... (1997). In 1998, the song was released as a single and reached the top position on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Blue on Black" was regarded as the best rock song of 1998 by various media. It won the Billboard Music Award for "Rock Track of the Year" and the song's popularity helped make Trouble Is... the 1999 "Blues Album of the Year" in Billboard. The song continues to be a top download of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd catalog, ranking at number one on Rhapsody. It is also his most-listened to song on Spotify with over 60 million streams.
In 2019, Shepherd teamed up with American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch, along with country singer Brantley Gilbert and Queen guitarist Brian May for a reworked version of "Blue on Black". It also performed well on the record charts and proceeds were donated to the Gary Sinise Foundation to benefit first responders.
In an August 2017 interview, Shepherd discussed the song's origins:
We wrote that when we were down in New Orleans –me, Mark and Tia. I had the music, and Mark and I were just rolling with the music and tried to develop things up. Tia came up with this idea based on a shirt that I was wearing that was blue and black. She noticed the two colors that were dominant on my shirt, and if you mix those two colors together, black consumes the blue. It doesn't amount to anything if you put the two together: You still have one color, instead of creating a new color. So she built on that idea, and it became this really deep song. It's really up to the listener to determine how they apply it. So many people have applied it to a death in the family, an abusive relationship, a broken relationship, or whatever. There are so many different ways. That's what's beautiful about music and lyrics is trying to write a song that the listener can apply to their own experience in whatever way seems fit. And that's one of those songs. [4]
As Shepherd's signature song, he often closes his concert performances with "Blue on Black", just prior to "Voodoo Child". [5] The Jimi Hendrix cover was also included on the CD single with an alternate mix of "Blue on Black".
Shepherd discussed the song's commercial significance in an interview:
The success at rock radio that we had early in my career, with 'Blue on Black,' I think we set a record. When that song was out, it definitely helped expose my music to a wider audience, and also, by gaining that exposure, then I get to turn a lot of those people on to the blues who may not have listened to the blues otherwise. [8]
"Blue on Black" reached number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [9] It also reached the top position on the magazine's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. [10] A review in Billboard, described the song as a "widely appealing meld of brooding southern rock, searing blues guitar and alt-country touches". [11]
In honor of the hit single, the Martin Guitar Company issued its Kenny Wayne Shepherd Limited Edition Signature model JC-16KWS, a distinct jumbo model in dark blue, in January 2001. The guitar design was inspired by the imagery evoked in the song's lyrics. [12] Proceeds from the model were to be donated to Providence House, a Shreveport, Louisiana shelter and development program for homeless families with children.
"Blue on Black" | ||||
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Single by Five Finger Death Punch featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brantley Gilbert, and Brian May | ||||
from the album And Justice for None | ||||
Released | April 12, 2019 | |||
Length | 4:34 | |||
Label | Eleven Seven | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Five Finger Death Punch singles chronology | ||||
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd singles chronology | ||||
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Brantley Gilbert singles chronology | ||||
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Brian May singles chronology | ||||
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American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch recorded "Blue on Black" for their 2018 album And Justice for None . However,on April 12,2019,a version different to the one on that album,was released as a single,together with Kenny Shepherd,country musician Brantley Gilbert and Queen guitarist Brian May. It merged Sheperd's blues rock,Gilbert's country,May's classic rock and Five Finger Death Punch's mainstream rock styles. [13]
An official music video was released on April 11,2019. Proceeds from the song were donated to the Gary Sinise Foundation to benefit first responders. [14] This version debuted and peaked at number two on the US Digital Song Sales chart and number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100,marking Five Finger Death Punch's first visit to the latter list since 2011 and also became the band's record-extending tenth Hard Rock Digital Song Sales number one. [15] It also topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for five non-consecutive weeks. [16]
Personnel
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [17] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [18] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [18] Remix with Kenny Wayne Shepherd,Brantley Gilbert,and Brian May | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Kid Rock is the sixth studio album by American musician Kid Rock,his fourth Atlantic Records album. It was released in 2003 and is his final release on Lava Records. It was critically acclaimed by Rolling Stone,which named it one of the 50 Greatest Albums of 2003. "Black Bob" and "Jackson,Mississippi" were recorded for his 1996 album Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp in 1995,but were left off the album. "Feel Like Makin' Love","Cold and Empty","Intro","Hillbilly Stomp" and "Run Off to LA" were recorded for the demo sessions for 2001's Cocky,but did not make the cut as well. "Feel Like Makin' Love" originally had Sheryl Crow on the song. Country singer Kenny Chesney co-wrote "Cold and Empty".
Ledbetter Heights is the debut album by American blues solo artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd,released on September 19,1995,when Shepherd was 18 years old. The album's name refers to a neighborhood in Shepherd's hometown of Shreveport,Louisiana. It also featured lead singer Corey Sterling on vocals.
Trouble Is ... is the second album by American blues solo artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the first to be released under the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band moniker. It is the first of several albums to feature Noah Hunt on vocals.
Groove metal,sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash,is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal,but played in slower tempos,and making use of rhythmic guitar parts. It was pioneered in the late 1980s by groups like Exhorder,Prong and the Bad Brains,and then popularized by the commercial success of Pantera,White Zombie,Machine Head and Sepultura. The genre went on to be influential in the development of the new wave of American heavy metal,nu metal and metalcore,and continued to gain traction in the 2000s with Lamb of God,DevilDriver and Five Finger Death Punch,and 2010s with Killer Be Killed and Bad Wolves.
"Gone Away" is a song by American rock band the Offspring. Written by the band's singer,Dexter Holland,it is the seventh track on the band's fourth studio album,Ixnay on the Hombre (1997),and was released as its second single. It also appears as the sixth track on Greatest Hits (2005). A piano version of the song features as the eleventh track on the group's tenth studio album Let the Bad Times Roll (2021).
Gary Hoey is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist,singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums.
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist,singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve,when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000,Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures,of which eleven have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues rock artist.
Mark Otis Selby was an American blues rock singer-songwriter,guitarist,multi-instrumentalist,and record producer. Born in Enid,Oklahoma,he was a solo artist,signed to ZYX Records in Europe,and one half of performing duo with his wife,songwriter Tia Sillers. He also played guitar in recording sessions for musical artists such as Kenny Rogers,Johnny Reid,Keni Thomas,Jimmy Hall,and Wynonna Judd.
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"Under and Over It" is a song by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. It was released as the first single from their third album American Capitalist,and their tenth single overall. The song was released on July 27,2011,and from July–November 2011,it was ranked as the number one song on SiriusXM's Octane channel's weekly countdown. "Under and Over It" reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100,and was their only entry on the chart until "Blue on Black" reached number 66.
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Tia Maria Sillers is an American songwriter. She has written over 40 singles in multiple music formats,including the Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance",and the Kenny Wayne Shepherd single "Blue on Black". Sillers' songs have been featured in numerous films,television shows and commercials.
This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2018.
This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2019.
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Shepherd's 'Blue on Black,' and its widely appealing meld of brooding southern rock, searing blues guitar and alt-country touches exploded on rock radio.
Shepherd's 'Blue on Black,' and its widely appealing meld of brooding southern rock, searing blues guitar and alt-country touches exploded on rock radio.
Shepherd's 'Blue on Black,' and its widely appealing meld of brooding southern rock, searing blues guitar and alt-country touches exploded on rock radio.
Shepherd's 'Blue on Black,' and its widely appealing meld of brooding southern rock, searing blues guitar and alt-country touches exploded on rock radio.