Back to Black (song)

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“Back to Black”
“Back to Black” cover
Single by Amy Winehouse
from the album Back to Black
B-side "Valerie", "Hey Little Rich Girl"
Released 30 April 2007 (UK)
7 March 2008 (Germany)
Format CD single, digital download, 12" single, 7" single
Recorded Chung King Studios
(New York City, New York)
Daptone Studios
(New York City, New York)
Metropolis Studios
(London)
Genre Jazz, soul
Length 4:01
Label Island
Writer(s) Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson
Producer Mark Ronson
Amy Winehouse singles chronology
"You Know I'm No Good"
(2007)		 "Back to Black"
(2007)		 "Tears Dry on Their Own"
(2007)

"Back to Black" is a jazz–soul song written by English musicians Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson for Winehouse's second studio album, Back to Black (2006). Released as the album's third single on 30 April 2007 in the United Kingdom and 7 March 2008 in the rest of the world, the song was produced Ronson. Though not credited in the album's liner notes, the track's music is inspired by The Supremes' 1964 song "Baby Love" and The Ronettes' 1963 song "Be My Baby".

Contents

[edit] Music video

"Amy's sultry new video for Back In Black[sic] is both beautifully and artistically shot in black and white and compares in imagery a doomed love affair with that of a funeral."[1]

The music video features a funeral procession in which Winehouse mourns over a grave, which reads "R.I.P. the Heart of Amy Winehouse".[2] The graveyard scenes were filmed at Abney Park Cemetery and other scenes were filmed in nearby Gibson Gardens, both in Stoke Newington, London. The video premiered on 24 March 2007.[citation needed]

Winehouse performed the song live at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich, Germany on 1 November 2007.

[edit] Track listings and formats

CD single[3]
  1. "Back to Black"
  2. "Valerie" (Jo Whiley Live Lounge)
  3. "Hey Little Rich Girl"
  4. "Back to Black" (Video)
12" single[4]
  1. "Back to Black" (Steve Mac Vocal)
  2. "Back to Black" (Steve Mac Smack Dub)
  3. "Back to Black"
  4. "Back to Black" (Mushtaq Vocal Remix)
7" single (Limited Edition White Vinyl)[5]
  1. "Back to Black"
  2. "Back to Black" (The Rumble Strips Remix)
Digital single[6]
  1. "Back to Black" (Original Demo)

[edit] Response

Pre-release, the song charted in the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone for 5 consecutive weeks, peaking at No.40.[7] The single charted at No. 25 once it had been released in physical format, and has sold around 96,000 copies to date in the UK[8]; it has spent 34 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart to date. It has re-entered with "Rehab" together in the charts. The song featured on the BBC Radio 1 The B List Playlist, week commencing 2 May.[9] Channel 4 Music awarded the song 10 stars out of 10 in its review,[10] while Manchester Evening News rated the song as 5 out of 5 stars, commending it as "One of the best singles of the year."[11]

With sales of 96,000, "Back to Black" finished as 2007's 85th biggest-selling single in the UK.

"Back to Black" was covered by The Rumble Strips and was a b-side to their Motorcycle EP on 11 June 2007. On UK TV talent show The X Factor, girl group Hope covered the song during one of their live performances.

Lightspeed Champion included a cover of this song as a B-side to their single "Tell Me What It's Worth".

During 2007, the song was also used various times for TV trail campaigns, such as for the BBC's Philip Pullman adaptation The Shadow in the North in December 2007.

The song was covered on 5th June 2008 by Elbow in the Radio 1 Live Lounge with Jo Whiley .

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007)[12] Peak
position
Belgian Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) 32
Danish Singles Chart 38
European Hot 100 Singles[13] 69
Irish Singles Chart 33
UK Singles Chart 25
UK R&B Singles Chart 5
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Ö3 Austria Top 40 3
Euro 200[14] 24
German Singles Chart 8
Italian Singles Chart[15] 12
Luxembourgian Airplay Chart[16] 2
Portuguese National Top 50 4
Swiss Singles Chart 10

[edit] References

  1. ^ Back in Black – watch a clip. AmyWinehouse.com (12 March 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  2. ^ iTunes Store
  3. ^ Discogs.com - CD single
  4. ^ Discogs.com - 12" single
  5. ^ Discogs.com - 7" White Vinyl
  6. ^ 7 Digital
  7. ^ BBC Radio 1, 2/5/07
  8. ^ BBC Radio 1, 5/5/07
  9. ^ BBC Radio 1 Playlist
  10. ^ Channel 4 Music
  11. ^ Manchester Evening News
  12. ^ Amy Winehouse – Back To Black – Music Charts. αCharts.us. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  13. ^ European Hot 100 Singles. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  14. ^ Euro 200 archives. APC-stats. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  15. ^ italiancharts.com – Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (Italian). ItalianCharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  16. ^ Chartbreaker Top 50 (Luxembourgish). Eldoradio. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
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