"Back to Black" is a song by the English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 26 April 2007 by Island Records as the third single from her second and final studio album of the same name (2006). The song was written by Winehouse and Mark Ronson, and produced by the latter. "Back to Black" was inspired by Winehouse's relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who had left her for an ex-girlfriend.

"Back to Black" received widespread acclaim from music critics, who generally praised Winehouse's lyrics and vocal performance, and its throwback sound to girl groups from the 1960s. It was included on several compiled year and decade-end lists of the best in music and was further considered to be one of Winehouse's signature songs. The single peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom and is Winehouse's third best-selling single in that country. Many artists recorded covers of the song; most notably, Beyoncé and André 3000 covered it for the soundtrack of the 2013 film adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby (1925).

A documentary film based on the life and death of Winehouse, Amy (2015), features footage of Winehouse recording the song with Mark Ronson in March 2006. An a cappella version of the song was featured on the film's soundtrack.

Background and composition "Back to Black" was written by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson with the latter also serving as its producer. The track was recorded in three studios – Chung King Studios and Daptone Studios located in New York City and Metropolis Studios in London.

"Back to Black" was inspired by her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. He had left Winehouse for an ex-girlfriend, leaving her going to "black," which the listener may take to be drinking and depression. "Black" has sometimes been considered as a reference to heroin, but this is inaccurate as Winehouse's heroin use did not begin until after her later marriage to Fielder-Civil (May 2007), as confirmed in the Asif Kapadia documentary.

"Back to Black" is written in the key of D minor. The song explores elements of old school soul music. Its sound and beat have been described as similar to girl groups from the 1960s. Its production was noted for its Wall of Sound. Winehouse expresses feelings of hurt and bitterness for a boyfriend who has left her; however, throughout the lyrics she "remains strong" exemplified in the opening lines, "He left no time to regret, Kept his dick wet, With his same old safe bet, Me and my head high, And my tears dry, Get on without my guy". The song's lyrical content consists of a sad goodbye to a relationship with the lyrics being frank. Slant Magazine writer Sal Cinquemani suggested that the protagonist's lover may be committed to cocaine instead of another woman. John Murphy of musicOMH compared the song's introduction to the Martha and the Vandellas' "Jimmy Mack" (1967) – noting, that "Back to Black" goes to a "much darker place".

Critical reception "Back to Black" received universal critical acclaim. A writer from the website 4Music awarded the song ten stars out of ten in a review saying it was as good as the 1960s girl group classics that influenced it. The writer praised the "thoroughly modern Amy, who writes her own songs about love and sex and drugs and knows her own mind, but still gets hurt in a way only grown-ups can get hurt". Matt Harvey from BBC felt that the song owed to the "sonic heritage" of singers Phil Spector and Scott Walker and called it "a tortured monster of a track - Amy displaying the sort of vocal depth that Marc Almond has always dreamed of". AllMusic writer John Bush found universality in the song and opined that even Joss Stone could take it to the top of the music charts. Alex Denney from the website Drowned in Sound found "grit and gravitas" in Back to Black best shown in its title song with a "heart-stopping shuffle" and lyrics about a man's philander.

In 2007, the song was ranked number 39 on Popjustice's list of the year's best in music. Slant Magazine also mentioned it in their respective list of the best singles of the year, with Sal Cinquemani writing, "[It] is not only the singer's finest moment but producer Mark Ronson's as well". Writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed "Back to Black" at number 98 on their list of the 100 best songs of the '00s, praising Winehouse's trademark "stormily soulful" vocals and the updated sensibility, and prior to its 2021 article, the track is placed at number 79 on their lists of "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time." NME editors listed it at 61 on an eponomyous list for the magazine, writing that the song proved the album's real depth and added, "Hard faced and broken-souled, its knowing wallowing spoke to anyone who'd ever had a bunnyboiler moment". "Back to Black" was further considered one of Winehouse's signature songs. Justin Myers wrote for the Official Charts Company that it was the singer's most "anguished" song while also being "[h]eartbreakingly autobiographical". Tim Chester of NME also wrote that "Back to Black" was a song by which the singer should be remembered following her death, with Motown influence in her trademark vocal performance along with its powerful lyrics.

In July 2019 the song was the subject of the BBC Radio 4 programme Soul Music. The episode included contributions from Donald Brackett, the author of Back to Black: Amy Winehouse's Only Masterpiece.

Commercial performance Pre-release, the song charted in the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone for five consecutive weeks, peaking at number 40.BBC Radio 1, 2/5/07 The single charted at number 25 in 2007 once it had been released in physical format, which became its peak position in that country.BBC Radio 1, 5/5/07 The song has spent 34 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart to date. It has re-entered with "Rehab" together on the chart. The song featured on BBC Radio 1's The B List Playlist during the week commencing 2 May. With sales of 96,000, "Back to Black" finished as the UK's 85th biggest-selling single of 2007. On 31 July 2011, following her death, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at 8, also giving the song a new peak position and second top ten hit in UK. As of September 2014, "Back to Black" has sold 340,000 copies in the UK and is Winehouse's third best-selling single in that country. In America, due to strong digital sales of the single over the years, "Back to Black" was certified platinum for over one million digital sales by the RIAA in January 2015.RIAA Certified Amy Winehouse Released

Music video The music video was directed by Phil Griffin and features a funeral procession in which Winehouse mourns over a grave that reads "R.I.P. the Heart of Amy Winehouse". The shot of the headstone was edited out after the singer's death in 2011. The video was primarily shot near Gibson Gardens and Chesholm Road in Stoke Newington, London. The graveyard scenes were filmed at Abney Park Cemetery in northeast London. According to the official Winehouse website, "Amy's sultry new video for Back in Black is both beautifully and artistically shot in black-and-white and compares in imagery a doomed love affair with that of a funeral." At the 2007 Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO), the music video was nominated for Best Video but lost to Kanye West's "Stronger" (2007). Myers of the Official Charts Company deemed the clip "super-sad" and felt it went further on the song's main theme of goodbye. As of October 2025, the video has over more than 1.3 billion views on YouTube.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:

Track listings and formats

UK CD singleDiscogs.com - CD single "Back to Black" – 4:00 "Valerie" – 3:53 "Hey, Little Rich Girl" – 3:33 "Back to Black"

UK limited edition white 7" singleDiscogs.com - 7" White Vinyl Side A: "Back to Black" – 4:00 Side B: "Back to Black" – 3:48

UK 12" maxi singleDiscogs.com - 12" single Side A: "Back to Black" – 6:12 "Back to Black" – 6:15 Side B: "Back to Black" – 4:00 "Back to Black" – 4:03

Digital single "Back to Black"

Digital download – Remixes & B-Sides EP "Back to Black" – 3:49 "Back to Black" – 4:03 "Back to Black" – 3:01 "Back to Black" – 3:53 "Back to Black" – 6:03

Credits Amy Winehouse – vocals, background vocals Mark Ronson – tambourine, band arrangements, production, recording Nick Movshon – bass guitar Homer Steinweiss – drums Thomas Brenneck – guitar Binky Griptite – guitar Victor Axelrod – piano Vaughan Merrick – claps, recording Perry Montague-Mason – violin, orchestra leader Chris Elliot – orchestral arrangements, orchestra conducting Isobel Griffiths – orchestra contractor Chris Tombling, Mark Berrow, Warren Zielenski, Liz Edwards, Boguslaw Kostecki, Peter Hanson, Jonathan Rees, Tom Pigott-Smith, Everton Nelson – violin Jon Thorne, Katie Wilkinson, Bruce White, Rachel Bolt – viola Anthony Pleeth, Joely Koos, John Heley – cello Andy Macintosh – alto saxophone Chris Davies – alto saxophone Jamie Talbot – tenor saxophone Dave Bishop – baritone saxophone Frank Ricotti – percussion Gabriel Roth – band arrangements Tom Elmhirst – mixing Dom Morley – recording engineering assistance Jesse Gladstone – recording assistance Mike Malowski – recording assistance Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts + 2007–2008 weekly chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2007–2008) Peakposition European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard) 69 Greece (IFPI) 1 Ireland (IRMA) 33

+ 2011–2026 weekly chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2011–2026) Peakposition Canadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 59 Greece International (IFPI) 28 Israel International Airplay (Media Forest) 6 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 91 Portugal (AFP) 135 US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 19

Year-end charts + 2007 year-end chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2007) Position UK Singles (OCC) 85

+ 2008 year-end chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2008) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 13 European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard) 97 Germany (Official German Charts) 48 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 33 UK Singles (OCC) 165

+ 2011 year-end chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2011) PositionItaly (Musica e dischi) 76

+ 2024 year-end chart performance for "Back to Black" Chart (2024) Position France (SNEP) 118

Certifications

Release history + Release dates and formats for "Back to Black" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) United Kingdom 26 April 2007 7-inch vinyl Island 30 April 2007 United States 27 November 2007 Rhythmic contemporary radio Universal Republic Germany 7 March 2008 CD Universal Music

Other versions Lightspeed Champion included a cover of this song as a B-side to their 2008 single "Tell Me What It's Worth". His version was a stripped-down rendition, from a different gender perspective. Priya Elan of NME considered his cover to be one of the best covers by a song by Winehouse classifiying it as "suitably distraught and heartbroken". "Back to Black" was covered thrice on the Live Lounge segment of BBC Radio 1's The Jo Whiley Show, first by Elbow on 5 June 2008 and later by both Glasvegas on 1 September 2008 and Sam Fender on 13 February 2020. Elbow's version contained a string accompaniment which backed the lead singer's vocals. Fender's rendition was later released digitally to music streaming services on 26 March 2020. The song appeared on French singer Amanda Lear's 2009 album, Brief Encounters. The cover was also released as a single on 13 December 2012 containing three versions of the song; the album version, an acoustic version and a "Dance Amanda's Vino Della Casa Mix". The writers of the website Idolator, described her cover as "one of the strangest Amy Winehouse covers".