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"Blue on Black"
Single by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
from the album Trouble Is...
B-side	"Blue on Black (The Road Mix)" "Voodoo Child"
Released	April 7, 1998 (1998-04-07)
Genre	Blues rock
Length	5:30
Label	Revolution Giant Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Kenny Wayne Shepherd Mark Selby Tia Sillers
Producer(s)	Jerry Harrison
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band singles chronology
"Somehow, Somewhere, Someway" (1998) "Blue on Black" (1998) "Everything Is Broken" (1998)

"Blue on Black" is a song by American blues rock band Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Written by Shepherd with songwriters Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, Noah Hunt provides the lead vocal. It is a single from their second studio album, Trouble Is..... Released on April 7, 1998, the track spent 42 weeks on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and rose to number one, remaining there for six non-consecutive weeks.

"Blue on Black" was regarded as the best rock song of 1998 by various media, including winning 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.

Composition

In a August 2017 interview with Songfacts, 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.

Overview

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.

As Shepherd's signature song, "Blue on Black" has been known to help close his concerts just prior to "Voodoo Child." An exclusive cover of the latter song was also included on the "Blue on Black" CD single.

The song has been included on compilation albums such as Loaded with Hits (2000), Double Shot of Blues (2001), and Powered by Fender: The Players (2003). A live version was included on WCCC Live at Planet of Sound in 2005.

Awards and honors

"Blue on Black" was ranked the top rock song of 1998 by Billboard, the Album Network, and R&R. It also won the 1998 Billboard Music Award for Rock Track of the Year.

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. Proceeds from the model were to be donated to Providence House, a Shreveport, Louisiana shelter and development program for homeless families with children.

Track listing

1. "Blue on Black" (The Road Mix)
2. "Blue on Black"
3. "Voodoo Child" (non-album track)

Cover versions

"Blue on Black" was covered by Brent Smith and Zach Myers of American hard rock band Shinedown on their 2014 (Acoustic Sessions) EP.

Chart positions

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Blue on Black" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

See also

• List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)

References

1. "Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
2. Peerless, Beth B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Leon Russell top exemplary Santa Cruz Blues Festival lineup MontereyHerald.com (May 21, 2009). Retrieved on May 30, 2009.
3. Landers, Rick Kenny Wayne Shepherd Interview Archived October 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine ModernGuitars.com (December 7, 2007). Retrieved on May 30, 2009.
4. Martin Introduces Kenny Wayne Shepherd Jumbo HarmonyCentral.com (January 18, 2001). Retrieved on 5-30-09.
5. "Brent Smith & Zach Myers release Acoustic Covers EP". Retrieved 30 April 2014.

External links

• Template:MetroLyrics song

• Blues songs
• American rock songs
• 1998 singles
• Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one singles
• Song recordings produced by Jerry Harrison
• Songs written by Tia Sillers
• Songs written by Mark Selby (musician)