"Blackbird" is a song by the American rock band Alter Bridge from their album of the same name, which was released on October 8, 2007, by Universal Republic. At nearly eight minutes long, it was the band's longest song until overtaken by "Fable of the Silent Son" 15 years later. It has received critical acclaim since its release, often cited as the crowning point of both the album and the band's career by critics, fans, and the band members themselves. In March 2011, Guitarist magazine listed the song's guitar solo, which is performed by both Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti, as the greatest guitar solo of all time. Background "Blackbird" appears as the eighth track on Alter Bridge's 2007 album of the same name. It was composed and arranged by Alter Bridge, and the lyrics were written by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, who said that the creation of the song was difficult and that it took a long time. "We beat our heads against the wall for months," he told TuneLab, "so when it finally came together it was a good moment." He also said that he feels that "Blackbird" is one of the most gratifying songs that the band has ever written. The song is inspired by Kennedy's friend Mark Morse, who died as the song was being written: Kennedy explained that the idea for the chorus of the song came from an experience in the recording studio: A live version of the song appears on the band's 2009 concert film Live from Amsterdam. The opening guitar piece of The Beatles' song of the same name is performed by Kennedy as an introduction for the song. Reception and recognition Reception towards "Blackbird" has been extremely positive since its release. Vik Bansal from musicOMH referred to "Blackbird" as the album's pièce de résistance and stated, "An eight-minute paean to a lost loved one, it never comes close to sounding mawkish and instead counterpoints an ascendant tune with doomy, emotionally-charged riffs that somehow create a general sense of uplifting." In their review for the album, Ultimate Guitar Archive said that the song "starts out like any other rock ballad you might hear, but by the end you’ve been taken in every which direction." Sharon Mawer of Allmusic said, "It was on the title track with eight minutes of powerful emotions at work that the band really shone, the