Stone is a song by Alice in Chains and the second single from their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013). The song was released as a single on March 25, 2013, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. A music video directed by Robert Schober was released for the song. The song was first played live on April 10, 2013, during Alice in Chains‘ appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles. The lyrics to Stone are printed on the bottom plate of a limited edition of Jerry Cantrell‘s signature Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal released in 2013. The riff to Stone that Cantrell hummed into his phone while recovering from a shoulder surgery was ranked No. 16 on Guitar World’s 2019 list of the 20 best guitar riffs of the decade.
A lyric video for Stone was released on YouTube on April 15, 2013. The music video for Stone was shot in Lucerne Valley, California and directed by Robert Schober (aka Roboshobo), who directed their previous music video, Hollow. The video features the band playing on a rocky hill. Separately, three individuals are alone trying to transport stones that get heavier or larger, using a basket, a cart, and one rolling a boulder uphill. Once they are unable to proceed, they stop and become stones.
Alice in Chains
Jerry Cantrell: lead vocals, lead guitar
William DuVall: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Sean Kinney: drums
Mike Inez: bass