In 1994, the Seattle-based Soundgarden hadn’t taken their place at the top of the rock n’ roll mountain yet. Soundgarden was the first of the big four of grunge bands to sign their record deal, but the last to earn superstardom. That all changed with the release of their 4th studio album, Superunkown. It spawned five singles that have become rock radio staples, and of course, the band’s biggest hit, “Black Hole Sun.” The song is based on a phrase that lead singer Chris Cornell heard wrong during a newscast while they had been working on the album.
In 1994 while doing press for the album, Chris told Uncut Magazine the story behind the song.
I wrote it in my head, driving home from Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, a 35–40 minute drive from Seattle. It sparked from something a news anchor said on TV, and I heard it wrong. I heard ‘blah blah blah black hole sun blah blah blah’. I thought that would make an amazing song title, but what would it sound like? It all came together, pretty much the whole arrangement, including the guitar solo that’s played beneath the riff. I spent a lot of time spinning those melodies in my head so I wouldn’t forget them. I got home and whistled it into a Dictaphone. The next day I brought it into the real world, assigning a couple of key changes in the verse to make the melodies more interesting. Then I wrote the lyrics and that was similar, a stream of consciousness based on the feeling I got from the chorus and title
