"Black Gives Way to Blue" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains, and the last track on their 2009 studio album of the same name.
[5] The lyrics to "Black Gives Way to Blue" are printed on the base plate of Jerry Cantrell's signature Cry Baby Wah-Wah pedal.
[4] The song, which features the lyrics "Imitations are pale" and "Lay down/I'll remember you",[8] is a tribute to the band's late lead singer, Layne Staley.
"[9] In 2009, Cantrell invited Elton John to collaborate with Alice in Chains playing the piano in "Black Gives Way to Blue",[10] the title track and closing song on the album.
[11] And Cantrell's first album was Elton John Greatest Hits (1974),[13] a gift that he received from his father when he was 10 years old.
[14] 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.
[13][4] John was recording down the hall in the studio the band was working in, so Cantrell sent him a note and a tape explaining that this was the title track and "a song from the heart for Layne", and asked, "Would you consider playing some keyboards on it, whatever the hell you want?"
[4] John also sings backing vocals on the track,[10] which he recorded in a Las Vegas studio on April 23, 2009 while he was finishing his Red Piano residency.
[13]Elton John stated that he's been a big admirer of Cantrell for quite some time and couldn't resist the offer to play on the track.
[12]When Chris Cornell and Susan Silver's then 9-year-old daughter Lily asked her mother "what does 'Black Gives Way to Blue' mean?
[17]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.
"[22] 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.
[23] 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.
[27][28] The song has not been performed live by Alice in Chains since their concert at the Key Arena in Seattle on October 8, 2010.
[29] Jerry Cantrell performed the song during his solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019.