Black Gives Way to Blue (song)

"Black Gives Way to Blue" was written by Alice in Chains' guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, and it was one of the first songs he wrote for the band's album of the same name – their first album since 1995's self-titled record. It was also the last track the band recorded for the album. is a tribute to the band's late lead singer, Layne Staley. Cantrell said, "I'm really, really proud of that song. I'm proud of it for a lot of reasons. It's all about facing up, owning your s–t, owning your good stuff and your bad stuff, and continuing to walk forward and live a life." the title track and closing song on the album. Cantrell described the song as the band's goodbye to Staley. The first concert that Staley attended was Elton John's, and his mother revealed that he was blown away by it. a gift that he received from his father when he was 10 years old. The collaboration was born when Cantrell thought the track could use a little piano, so a friend of his, Baldy, who had worked with Elton John before, suggested the band should call him. He told Entertainment Weekly: In 2016, Cantrell told Metal Hammer that it's still difficult for him to listen to the song. ==Song title==

When Chris Cornell and Susan Silver's then 9-year-old daughter Lily asked her mother "what does 'Black Gives Way to Blue' mean?", Silver suggested they call her uncle Jerry [Cantrell] and ask him, and Cantrell explained to her: On December 1, 2020, Cornell Silver made her musical debut performing the song along with Chris DeGarmo at the MoPOP Founders Award tribute to Alice in Chains following an introduction by her mother. ==Reception==

Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone stated that the song "is pretty in a calm-after-the-storm way." Matt Melis of Consequence of Sound called it "a beautiful and plaintive tribute to Staley." Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post said of the track: "That touching title track is a killer—actually, a heartbreaker—and it says more about the band's healing process than any shrink's assessment would." ==Live performances==

The song was performed live for the first time during an exclusive listening party for fans and members of the press, at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Los Angeles on July 14, 2009. A photo of Layne Staley was displayed on a screen at the end of the performance when the band played the song during their 2009 tour. For the encore of Alice in Chains' concert at the Moore Theatre in Seattle on September 24, 2009, Jerry Cantrell sat on a stool and played an acoustic version of the song with an empty stool and microphone positioned next to him while the band was offstage. Alice in Chains performed the song for the first time on TV on the British TV show Later... with Jools Holland on November 10, 2009, with host Jools Holland on piano. The song has not been performed live by Alice in Chains since their concert at the Key Arena in Seattle on October 8, 2010. Jerry Cantrell performed the song during his solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019. ==Personnel==

• Jerry Cantrell – lead vocals, guitars • Elton John – piano, backing vocals ==References==