"Black Cat" is the sixth single from Janet's fourth album "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814." The single was released on August 28, 1990.
The song was written by Janet Jackson (who also produced the song with Jellybean Johnson). It was recorded in May of 1989 at Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"Black Cat" received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female", making Janet the only artist in history to have Grammy nominations spanning the Pop, Dance, Rock, Rap, and R&B categories
Song Background[]
For the album version of "Black Cat," most of the guitar lines were played by Dave Barry including the intro, main riff and a memorable thematic solo. He consequently became Janet Jackson's longtime touring guitarist.
A&R Records executive John McClain provided the slide-guitar part while Jellybean Johnson played the funky guitar part that punctuates the album version of the song. Although credited on the album, Jesse Johnson provided a guitar solo that wasn't used for the album version, but it is is featured in each of the remixes.
The video edit version of "Black Cat" features Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme on rhythm guitar while the "Guitar Mix" version features Vernon Reid of In Living Colour.
Music Video[]
The video was directed by Wayne Isham. It was a concert video filmed during the Minneapolis stop on her Rhythm Nation 1814 World Tour from April 5th and April 6, 1990.
Charts[]
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 33 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 21 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 6 |
| German Singles Chart | 34 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 11 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 25 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 31 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 16 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 10 |
| UK Singles Chart | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 17 |
End of year charts[]
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 75 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 65 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 59 |
Certifications[]
| Country | Certifier | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Gold | 500,000 |
| Australia | ARIA | Gold | 35,000 |