Back in Black (song)

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."^[6]

Opening guitar riff of "Back in Black"

The song's riff is one of the most recognised in hard rock history.^[7]

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Record World said the song has "everything that's made the band one of the hottest sellers around: powerhouse rhythm grind, guitar raunch & vocal mania."^[8] 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."^[9] Will Byers from The Guardian said "AC/DC's judicious use of space" in the song helped make it a "classic metal anthem".^[10]

The song was ranked No. 4 by VH1 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.^[11] In 2009, it was named the second-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[2] The song was also ranked No. 187 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[12] 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."^[13] In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song number three on their list of the 40 greatest AC/DC songs,^[14] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number four on their list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.^[15]

In 2010, this song sat at No. 2 in Triple M Melbourne's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Australia. The Top 5 were all AC/DC songs.^[16]

In 2023, Loudwire reported that the song's lyrics were among the most-searched in the rock genre from January 2019 through July 2023, according to an independent study of data pulled from Google Trends.^[17]

In 2025, it placed 37 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.^[18]

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.^{[citation needed]} It officially charted on the UK charts after 31 years in release; peaking in at no. 27^[19] because of the band's music becoming available on iTunes. It also reached no. 1 on the UK Rock Charts in the same week.^[20]

Sources:^[21][22]

AC/DC

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

Additional performer

• Robert John "Mutt" Lange – backing vocals

In 1984, the Beastie Boys sampled "Back in Black"^[13] 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.'"^[23]

Boogie Down Productions also used a sample of the rhythm section of song for "Dope Beat" on their debut album, Criminal Minded, released in 1987.

Five sampled "Back in Black" for their song "Lay All Your Lovin' on Me" on their 2001 album Kingsize.^{[citation needed]}

Shakira performed a cover of "Back in Black" during her 2002-2003 Tour of the Mongoose, with the live performances of the song produced by Shakira and Tim Mitchell.^[24] A recording of the tour date on 22 April 2003 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was released as a live album titled Live & off the Record in 2004.^[25]

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.^[13] In 2007, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue recorded live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.^[26] In 2017, Muse performed the song at the Reading Festival with Brian Johnson on vocals; this was Johnson's first performance in almost two years, as he was previously ordered to halt live performances in order to prevent further hearing damage.^[27]

Norwegian band Brothers recorded a version, which became one of the top-selling singles in Norway for 1993.^[28]

• List of best-selling singles