Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and 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 thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which twenty-two 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, one of four children born to G.A.The initials G.A. do not stand for anything. (Mitchell, July 2, 1989) and Ann Black.newspaper=New York Daily Newspublisher=PBSfirst=Rick The family moved back to Texas, where G.A. Black had been raised, before Clint was one year old. He was raised in the Houston area. 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". By fifteen, Black had learned to play guitar.first=Gary As a teenager Black joined his elder brothers, Kevin and Bryan, 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. Black eventually dropped out of high school to play with his brothers,first=Ann before becoming a solo act.
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. For six years, Black supported himself as a construction worker, bait cutter, and fishing guide,first=Steven while singing at various lounges as a solo singer and guitarist. 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. 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.
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.first=Marty 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''. The album was a critical and commercial success, with the album reaching number 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart 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.Seven years was the typical length of a recording contract. 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.first=Robert reprinted in the Houston Chronicle on January 6, 1991. www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_755354. Accessed April 9, 2009 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?" 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".
''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. 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. first=David 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. 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. The couple married in Katy, TX in October 1991.
1992: Lawsuits and The Hard Way
In March 1992, Black sued his manager, Bill Ham, for breach of contract; Ham promptly countersued. 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.
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".
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.
By mid-1992, Black's first two albums had sold a combined 5 million copies. The difficulties with Ham caused a delay in the release of Black's third album, first=RickThe Hard Way, which was released on July 14. 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.
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". Black was also more satisfied with the vocals on this album. 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, maintaing that most of those songs were written in the late 1980s.
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 his trademark hat behind. Black commented simply that he was bored wearing the hat all the time.
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....t sticks out like a sore thumb in his body of work." On the other hand, a review in Time magazine thought the duet helped Black show his emotions more intensely.first=Christopher John Some reviewers also noted that in some of the more serious songs on the album, Black's voice sounded strained. 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.The first three were Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Garth Brooks. 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. 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".url=www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds756.htm 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.
1999–Present: Later career
Black performing at a benefit concert Black and Hartman welcomed their only child, Lily Pearl Black, in May 2001. 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."
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.
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.first=Michael D. 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".
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."
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. first=Joey 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". Black was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
Songwriting
Few country singers fill their albums primarily with their own material. Although RCA Records often pushed Black to record the material of other artists, he refused. Black recorded only his own songs until 2007, when he released the single "The Strong One".first=Joey 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".first=Rick In general, Black writes the lyrics to their songs, while Nicholas provides the melody.
Black explains that he appreciates country music because it "is straight forward, the melodies are there, some of the ballads are as beautiful and sweeping as anything Barbra Streisand has done. But the ... poetry is simple." Reviewers have often praised the songs for their "thoughtful lyrics" Many were incredulous that such a young man (27 at the release of his first album) could have such "a remarkably mature perspective". 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?"
Many of his songs make use of puns and other creative turns of phrase. 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".first=Rick
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.first=Nicholas L. 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.
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.first=Michael 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.
Black has enjoyed his television experiences, describing acting as "another way for me to expand my creative canvas. ... I love to challenge myself." url=www.countryweekly.com/feature/781 He believes that most of his fans "just see me as a musician who is stepping into and film temporarily and either doing it alright or not".
Discography
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"
