Clint Black

Clint Black
in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort Santa Ynez, California October 26, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Clint Patrick Black
Born	February 4, 1962 (1962-02-04) (age 49)
Origin	Long Branch, New Jersey U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Musician Singer-songwriter Multi-instrumentalist Record producer Actor
Instruments	Vocals Guitar Bass Harmonica Keyboards Drums
Years active	1989–present
Labels	RCA Nashville, Equity
Associated acts	Lisa Hartman Black, Hayden Nicholas, Steve Wariner
Website	ClintBlack.com

Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although his momentum gradually slowed throughout the 1990s, Black consistently charted hit songs into the 2000s. He has amassed more than 30 singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which 13 have reached Number One), in addition to releasing nine studio albums and several compilation albums. In 2003, Black founded his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998's Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.

Early life

Clint Black was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the youngest of four children born to G.A.^{[Note 1]} and Ann Black.^[1][2][3] The family moved back to Texas, where G.A. Black had been raised, before Clint was one year old.^[1] He was raised in Houston, Texas. Music was always present in the house. Black taught himself to play harmonica before he was 13, and at 14 wrote his first song. His father remarked that it was at that age that the parents "first noticed that he had a great voice".^[3] By 15, Black had learned to play guitar.^[4] As a teenager Black joined his elder brothers, Mark, Kevin and Brian, in their small band. On Saturday afternoons, the family would host backyard barbecues and invite the neighborhood to listen to the boys sing. Some weekends would attract up to 70 people.^[3] Black eventually dropped out of high school to play with his brothers,^[5] before becoming a solo act.^[3]

Black was initially drawn to a variety of musical genres. According to his father, he chose to focus on country music in the early 1980s, after singers George Strait and Reba McEntire transformed the genre.^[3] For six years, Black supported himself as a construction worker, bait cutter, and fishing guide,^[6] while singing at various lounges as a solo singer and guitarist.^[3] In 1987, at one of the gigs he met another guitarist, Hayden Nicholas. The two men connected musically and began a song writing partnership that would last decades.^[3] In the late 1980s, Black delivered a demo of their collaboration "Nobody's Home" to record promoter Sammy Alfano. Within two days of that delivery, Black was invited to a meeting with Bill Ham, who managed ZZ Top.^[3]

Music career

1989–1991: Early career

Black soon signed with RCA Records, at that time considered one of the "most aggressive" labels in country music.^[7] His first album, Killin' Time, was released in 1989. Each song on the album was penned at least in part by Black; four of them were attributed solely to him, while the rest were collaborations with Nicholas. In a departure from most other country albums, Black used his road band instead of session musicians to record Killin' Time.^[3] The album was a critical and commercial success,^[4] reaching Number One on the Billboard Country Albums chart and certified platinum in 1990.^[8] The first single, "A Better Man", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs in early June. This marked the first time in 14 years that a debut single by a male artist had peaked at the top of the chart.^[3] In total, five singles off of his debut album reached number 1, the first time any country artist had accomplished this feat.^[5] Black swept the Country Music Association's awards in 1989, winning in six different categories,^{[citation needed]} including the Horizon Award for best newcomer.^[6] At the end of the year, his singles, "A Better Man" and "Killin' Time" place number 1 and number 2 on the year-end country singles charts. It had been 36 years since another artist had claimed both top spots in a single year.^[6] Looking back at the early stages of his career, Black recalled: "'At one point, I knew I crossed this line out of obscurity and I felt like no matter what happened from that point on I would always be remembered for "Killin' Time." There was this kind of mixed feeling of remorse and excitement.'"^[9]

In late 1990, the Los Angeles Times surveyed country music industry insiders to determine which acts could be expected to sell the most records over the next 7 years.^{[Note 2]} Black placed second in the poll, two votes behind Garth Brooks. The survey results were surprising in that 10 of the top 20 artists named were relative newcomers to the industry; in the past, country music had been dominated by artists with several decades experience.^[10] The plethora of new acts confused some reviewers, however. Many reviewers lumped many of the new acts together; as Newsweek's David Gates wrote: "Good song, good voice, hot band: who cares which one it is this time?"^[11] Black soon became known as one of Nashville's "hat acts"; like other country artists such as Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Mark Chesnutt, Black was a relative newcomer who wore a hat, and had "clean, neotraditional sound with pop appeal".^[11]

Killin' Time was certified platinum in 1990. Black's second album, Put Yourself in My Shoes, was released in November 1990. It reached Number 2 on the country chart and was in the top 20 on the pop album charts.^[8] This success on the pop charts resulted from a change in the way Billboard calculated album sales; a new reliance on Nielsen SoundScan instead of information from selected record stores showed that sales of country albums had previously been undercounted.^[11] The album did not meet with as much critical acclaim as his debut, but nonetheless still included several hit singles. He began touring with Alabama.

Black began dating actress Lisa Hartman in 1990.^[9] The couple kept their relationship very quiet. The first picture of the two of them together was not published until the week they were engaged.^[12] The couple married in Katy, Texas in October 1991.^[9]

1992: Lawsuits and The Hard Way

In March 1992, Black sued his manager, Bill Ham, for breach of contract; Black sought $2 million in damages and requested that Ham return $4 million in royalties. Under the terms of their initial contract, Ham controlled all publishing royalties for any song that Black wrote or co-wrote for his first eight albums. Because Black wrote all of his own music, this amounted to a fee of 20 to 30 cents per album sold. Industry standards generally counseled songwriters to form their own publication companies, so they would be able to retain more of the royalties.^[9]

Ham promptly countersued, blaming the initial lawsuit on poor advice Black received from his new personal assistant, his mother-in-law Jonni Hartman. His lawyer told the press that "Mr. Ham invested $1 million of his own money in Clint Black's career at a time when nobody else would do so. For that commitment, Mr. Black should show a little gratitude and honor his contracts".^[9]

Also in March, a woman claiming to be Black's former girlfriend told a national tabloid television show that he had fathered her two-year-old daughter and had failed to live up to his responsibilities. Black declined to comment on the paternity allegation.^[9]

By mid-1992, Black's first two albums had sold a combined 5 million copies.^[9] The difficulties with Ham caused a delay in the release of Black's third album,^[13] The Hard Way, which was released on July 14.^[9] The album had been expected the year previously, and during the delay the country music scene changed. Both Alan Jackson and Travis Tritt achieved greater success, and Billy Ray Cyrus became a teen idol. The competition that Black faced was now much stiffer than with his earlier albums.^[13]

According to Black, he and producer James Stroud spent more time putting this album together than either of those preceding and were "a lot more aggressive in the way we cut and mixed the album".^[9] Black was also more satisfied with the vocals on this album.^[9] Several of the songs on The Hard Way, including "Burn One Down", were initially reported to be Black's responses to his situation with Ham. Cowriter Nicholas refuted the rumors, maintaining that most of those songs were written in the late 1980s.^[14]

To promote the album, Black launched The Hard Way Tour on June 26, 1992. The tour ran for 11 months. Reviewers noticed that with this album Black presented a "new, sexier image", wearing tighter clothing and in many cases leaving behind his trademark hat. Black commented simply that he was bored wearing the hat all the time.^[9]

1993–1999

Black's fourth album, No Time to Kill was released almost a year after The Hard Way. The album received mixed reviews. The Houston Chronicle noted that Black's duet with Wynona Judd, "A Bad Goodbye", was "precisely the kind of radio-ready, big-production ballad that record companies tend to force on their artists when they sense that their careers are in trouble....[I]t sticks out like a sore thumb in his body of work."^[15] On the other hand, a review in Time magazine thought the duet helped Black show his emotions more intensely.^[16] Some reviewers also noted that in some of the more serious songs on the album, Black's voice sounded strained.^[15]

Clint Black's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

One Emotion followed in 1995. Also a platinum certified album in the US, this album accounted for five straight Top 5 hits. First was the #4 "Untanglin' My Mind", a Merle Haggard co-write. After it came the #3 "Wherever You Go", #1 "Summer's Comin'", the #2 title track and finally the #4 "Life Gets Away." The latter two were also Number One country hits in Canada.

In 1996, Black became the fourth country music singer to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^{[17][Note 3]} Later that year, he released his first greatest-hits package. This was led off by the chart-topper "Like the Rain", which spent three weeks at Number One. After it came the #6 "Half Way Up", his first single since "One More Payment" to miss Top 5.

Black's next album, 1997's Nothin' but the Taillights, was released to mediocre reviews. Thom Owens of Allmusic said that the album made no attempt to change his sound, and was "sturdy" but less country than his previous efforts.^[18] Lead-off single "Still Holding On", a duet with labelmate Martina McBride, became his first single to land outside the Top 10, with a #11 peak that year. He soon recovered his chart momentum with the #2 "Something That We Do" followed by two straight chart-toppers in the album's Steve Wariner-penned title track and "The Shoes You're Wearing". The next two singles — the #12 "Loosen Up My Strings" and #29 "You Don't Need Me Now" — were less successful.

In 1999, Black released D'lectrified, which relied completely on acoustic instruments. Nevertheless, USAToday thought the "album sounds as full and brash as an electric album since he used creative arrangements and horn sections".^[19] Three of the songs on the albums were remakes of previous Black singles. Several others featured guest appearances by some of Black's idols, including Waylon Jennings, Kenny Loggins, and Eric Idle. The songs tended to be longer than most of those played on country radio, with many stretching more than 5 minutes.^[19]

1999–Present: Later career

Black performing at a benefit concert

Black and Hartman welcomed their only child, Lily Pearl Black, in May 2001.^[20] Black took a three-year break from the music industry to stay home with his daughter. He explained that "it ended up not being a smart career move, but it was a real smart dad move. ... I wouldn't go back and try to do anything for my career in exchange for that."^[2]

During his sabbatical, Black spent time reassessing his career. After deciding he was unwilling to work within the current recording industry system, he formed his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black admitted that it was difficult to leave RCA. In his 14 years with the label, he had sold over 12 million records.^[21]

The new label operated under very different rules than those Black had begun his own career under. Artists were guaranteed ownership of their songs and were granted an equity stake in the label.^[21] The first release from the new label was Black's next album, Spend My Time; his eighth studio album was Black's first release in five years . The Houston Chronicle called it "arguably the most adventurous of his career".^[21]

His last full studio album was 2005's Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic. Black chose the title of the album first, because "I knew if I didn't give myself some parameters, that I could end up over the line or too close to it. And I wanted a real honky-tonk style album. So I thought that title at least would tell me what I was after."^[2]

Black has continued to record new material, however. In 2007, he released the single "The Strong One" the first original song he has recorded that he did not write.^[22] The song was included on his first digital EP, released on March 11, 2008. Titled "The Long Cool EP," the collection features Black’s single, "Long Cool Woman", "The Strong One" and a duet with his wife titled "You Still Get to Me".^{[citation needed]} Equity Music Group closed its doors in December 2008 due to economic difficulties.^[23]

Black was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.^{[24] [25]}

Songwriting

Few country singers fill their albums primarily with their own material.^[8] Although RCA Records often pushed Black to record the material of other artists, he refused.^[9] Black recorded only his own songs until 2007, when he released the single "The Strong One".^[22] Many of his songs were the result of a collaboration with Hayden Nicholas. Their first collaboration, "Straight From the Factory", took them only 20 minutes to write. Nicholas ruefully commented that "most of 'em weren't that easy".^[14]

Black explains that he appreciates country music because it "is straightforward, the melodies are there, some of the ballads are as beautiful and sweeping as anything Barbra Streisand has done. But the ... poetry is simple."^[2] Reviewers have often praised the songs for their "thoughtful lyrics"^[3] Many were incredulous that such a young man (27 at the release of his first album) could have such "a remarkably mature perspective".^[3] According to Black, "To me, a song is more than just something to sing. It's something to learn from. It's somebody else's true feeling. I'm always trying to get at the meaning. ... When I write a line, I'm doing the same thing. I'm looking at it from the perspective of if I was driving down the road listening to it, what am I gonna get out of it?"^[3]

Many of his songs make use of puns and other creative turns of phrase.^[1] While the wordplay in many of the songs on his earlier albums was widely appreciated, by the fourth album reviewers felt that the songs were not as high in quality. Rick Mitchell of the Houston Chronicle pointed out that on The Hard Way "clever wordplay is no substitute for heartfelt emotion".^[15]

Film and television

Shortly after his music career took off, Black began receiving offers for acting roles. He turned down every request until 1994, when he was offered a bit part in star-studded comedy Maverick. Although the part required very little actual acting, after the movie's release Black received an increasing number of calls from directors who thought he would be perfect for a particular role. Black has appeared in several television shows, including Wings and The Larry Sanders Show.^[26] He has since starred in the 1998 television movie Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack, had a major role in another television movie Going Home, and appeared briefly in the 2003 film Anger Management.^[27]

He has also had a presence on various reality television shows. In 2003, Black appeared on Nashville Star, where he acted as a mentor to the contestants. He later produced the debut album of series winner Buddy Jewell.^[28] In 2004, Clint appeared as himself in the TV show Las Vegas. In 2008, Black was a contestant on a short-lived CBS reality show, Secret Talents of the Stars, in which he practiced stand-up comedy. The following year, he competed on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. He was fired after the eleventh task, placing himself in fifth place.^[26] In 2009, Black appeared on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Black has enjoyed his television experiences, describing acting as "another way for me to expand my creative canvas. ... I love to challenge myself."^[27] He believes that most of his fans "just see me as a musician who is stepping into [television and film] temporarily and either doing it alright or not".^[26] He was also more recently in the movie Flicka 2 in 2010

Discography

Main article: Clint Black discography

Studio Albums

• 1989: Killin' Time
• 1990: Put Yourself in My Shoes
• 1992: The Hard Way
• 1993: No Time to Kill
• 1994: One Emotion
• 1996: Greatest Hits
• 1997: Nothin' but the Taillights
• 1999: D'lectrified
• 2001: Greatest Hits II
• 2004: Spend My Time
• 2005: Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic
• 2007: The Love Songs

Awards

Academy of Country Music

• 1989 Album of the Year - "Killin' Time"
• 1989 Top Male Vocalist
• 1989 Top New Male Vocalist
• 1989 Single of the Year - "A Better Man"
• 1999 Vocal Event of the Year with Lisa Hartman Black - "When I Said I Do"

American Music Awards

• 1990 Favorite Country New Artist

Country Music Association

• 1989 Horizon Award
• 1990 Male Vocalist of the Year

Filmography

• Flicka 2 (2010) - Toby
• Anger Management (2003) - Masseur
• Going Home (2000) - Dr. Warren
• Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack (1998) - Cadillac Jack Favor
• Maverick (1994) - Sweet-Faced Gambler
• Montana Christmas Skies (1991) - Himself, with John Denver, Kathy Mattea, Patty Loveless

Notes

1. ^ The initials G.A. do not stand for anything. (Mitchell, July 2, 1989)
2. ^ Seven years was the typical length of a recording contract.
3. ^ The first three were Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Garth Brooks.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Black comes Back: The country king (and Jersey boy) makes a stop at Harrah's", New York Daily News, August 13, 2006, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2006/08/13/2006-08-13_black_comes_back__the_country_king_and_j.html, retrieved April 13, 2009 ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Smiley, Tavis (October 10, 2005), Clint Black, PBS, http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200510/20051010_black.html, retrieved April 13, 2009 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Mitchell, Rick (July 2, 1989), "Clint Black sees stardom in the offing: First album by Houston country performer proves that he's for real", Houston Chronicle: Zest, p. 9, http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_634276, retrieved April 9, 2009 
4. ^ ^{a b} Graff, Gary (October 1, 1989), "A few word with...Houstonian Clint Black", Houston Chronicle: Zest, p. 6., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_653411, retrieved April 9, 2009 
5. ^ ^{a b} Hodges, Ann (June 6, 2000), "Every Life a Story: 'Biography' to profile Clint Black, 26 others", Houston Chronicle: Houston section, p. 8., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2000_3219903, retrieved April 9, 2009 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Long, Steven; Zuniga, Jo Ann (February 19, 1990), "Country newcomer hits it big", Houston Chronicle: Section A, p 1., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_684794, retrieved April 9, 2009 
7. ^ Racine, Marty (May 8, 1989), "Clint Black wows home crowd", Houston Chronicle: Star, p. 1, http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_622002, retrieved April 9, 2009 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Mitchell, Rick (January 2, 1991), "Clint Black's time has come", Houston Chronicle: Section A, p. 15., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_754465, retrieved April 9, 2009 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Mitchell, Rick (July 5, 1992), "New Album: New Image - Clint Black", Houston Chronicle: Zest, p. 16., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1992_1065589, retrieved April 9, 2009 
10. ^ Hilburn, Robert (December 30, 1990), "Country's new crop", Los Angeles Times: Cal, p. 8  reprinted in the Houston Chronicle on January 6, 1991. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_755354. Accessed April 9, 2009
11. ^ ^{a b c} Gates, David (October 7, 1991), "New Kids on the Range", Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/id/127087, retrieved April 9, 2009 
12. ^ Hodges, Ann (October 1, 1991), "Clint Black will marry Lisa Hartman", Houston Chronicle: City and State, p. 1, http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_813248, retrieved April 9, 2009 
13. ^ ^{a b} Mitchell, Rick (October 4, 1992), "Clint Black polished, energetic, but where's the hat?", Houston Chronicle: Section A, p. 30, http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1992_1084883, retrieved April 9, 2009 
14. ^ ^{a b} Mitchell, Rick (February 24, 1993), "Back-seat guitarist: Songwriter comfortable in Clint Black's shadow", Houston Chronicle: Section Houston, p 1., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1993_1113294, retrieved April 9, 2009 
15. ^ ^{a b c} Mitchell, Rick (July 11, 1993), "Clint Black: 'No Time' to stand still", Houston Chronicle: Zest, p. 10, http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1993_1140763, retrieved April 9, 2009 
16. ^ Farley, Christopher John (August 23, 1993), "A Bluer Shade of Black", Time, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979064,00.html, retrieved April 24, 2009 
17. ^ "Clint Black earns his star", San Francisco Chronicle: C11, December 13, 1996 
18. ^ Owens, Thom. "Nothin' but the Taillights review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r307586. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "Nashville sound: Dixie Chicks", USAToday, October 27, 1999, http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds756.htm, retrieved April 9, 2009 
20. ^ "Welcome Lily Pearl Black", Country Weekly Magazine, May 17, 2001, http://www.countryweekly.com/news/377, retrieved April 9, 2009 
21. ^ ^{a b c} Clark, Michael D. (March 4, 2004), "Clint Black's getting back to his (grass) roots", Houston Chronicle: Houston section, p. 10., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2004_3740871, retrieved April 9, 2009 
22. ^ ^{a b} Guerra, Joey (September 28, 2007), "Clint Black: soft but strong", Houston Chronicle: Star, p. 1., http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4432364, retrieved April 9, 2009 
23. ^ Paxman, Bob (December 17, 2008), "Clint Black's Label Closes", Country Weekly Magazine, http://www.countryweekly.com/clint_black/news/3518, retrieved April 9, 2009 
24. ^ PRLog
25. ^ Independent Music Awards - 8th Annual IMA Judges
26. ^ ^{a b c} Dean, Nicholas L. (April 19, 2009), "More Than Just Music", The Post-Journal (Jamestown, New York), http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/528426.html, retrieved April 24, 2009 
27. ^ ^{a b} "Country Comes to Hollywood", Country Weekly Magazine, June 16, 2004, http://www.countryweekly.com/feature/781, retrieved April 9, 2009 
28. ^ Lipton, Michael; Grisby, Lorna (March 29, 2004), "The Daddy Two-Step", People 61 (12), http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20149671,00.html, retrieved April 9, 2009 

Further reading

• Brown, R.D. (1993), Clint Black: A Better Man, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9780671865467 

External links

• Official website
• Clint Black at IMDB

Persondata
Name	Black, Clint
Alternative names
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Date of birth	February 4, 1962
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death