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Thursday, 21 July 2022 01:43

WYNN - CMML - The Mega Star Series - Clint Black

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SW small Logo Amanda asked when I was going to get around to featuring Clint Black, and would he be in the Mega Star Series. Well, good idea, today, and yes!  Clint Black in my view, is a very important artist in our history.  CB showing up in 1989 was the next step on the ladder to country's explosion and led the charge to a popularity that we still enjoy today.  Clint along with Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Travis Tritt that year, changed a whole lot of things for the way better.

Perfect Debut Single  - Phones LIT UP! #1

 

As great as Clint Black was during his run, he is another example of stars not being guaranteed a 20 plus year chart run, as they are more rare than not. But in his case it was the music that made him a star and made him a pivotal artist.  The unapologetic, fantastic, straight forward country approach that fans loved deeply and gave him incredible success in the 1990's and beyond as he heavily influenced the next wave, and next generation of stars.  From my seat, he and Garth really changed the game in country music. The format had been slowly evolving from a pop sound to a more traditional sound for about 8 years, from the result of many great stars. But Clint Blacks arrival signaled the start of something very different.

One Of The Most Loved Country Songs Of The Last 30 Years #1

 

Think of today, with Luke Combs and his incredible and meteoric rise to the very top.  That's what Clint Black did along with Garth at the same time, and Alan Jackson was not far behind, if at all.  Black was the combination of a young Merle Haggard, along with George Strait image and looks, a traditional approach with a new thump, and a treasure chest of songs ready to go. Yes, it was traditional, but there was NOTHING old sounding about it. The door had been opening on a real country boom since about 1986, and in 1989, Black, Brooks, Jackson, and Tritt kicked it down.  Clint Black charted some 30 plus songs in his run and 22 of them (or so depending on which chart) went number one. 

Another #1 Off His Debut Album

 

He came to Nashville and had to wait for success, he was a construction worker and had other jobs.  But in 1987 he got a break, and in 1989, he hit the charts.  He did things a bit differently as well, insisting that HIS own band play on his albums, which is not the way it generally works, but it worked for him.  Early on there were some legal issues with his music delaying albums and releases that eventually were worked out, and in short order he was offered some acting roles as his popularity was blossoming. Clint Black was becoming a major star.  In those days the only real tools the artists had was the radio and videos, so the music had better be good. No YouTube, no internet, no social media to drive things.

Another Huge #1 Song

 

His debut album Killin' Time, is a work of art, as the first 4 songs went number one setting records at the time and sold millions. It's one of the best country albums ever recorded.  In fact, his first 6 studio albums all sold multi-millions and through the 1990's Clint Black dominated the charts and radio.  Every single he released in his first 10 years was a top ten hit with some that didn't make it to #1, but made it to #2.  What CB did very successfully was restore many people's complete musical faith that country had indeed returned to "country"  in every way, and they loved him for it. In addition to the music, that was his absolute gift to us. I feel there are plenty of fans that miss his kind of pure sound even today.

Great Summer Song

 

He looked the part, he wore a hat, (he led the Hat Act charge) he sounded it, and his music was pure.  He also reminded people of how they felt when they first heard and saw George Strait, a decade earlier, or Haggard a couple decades earlier. But this time the climate was different than Straits arrival time, and Black joined Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Holly Dunn, Patty Loveless and other traditionalists right away.  His sound was a little fuller, edgier, a bit more determined, and louder than some of the others of the time, say John Michael Montgomery, Jackson, Tim McGraw and even Garth's.

Very Cool Song

 

As time went on of course, Garth became the absolute face of country music with his soaring record sales, massive country and crossover appeal, incredible live shows, and gigantic national TV exposure, and we are better for it.  But in the 1990's Black and Brooks were undeniably running parallel and were the top acts of this huge decade that featured so many big stars.  They were the country stars of 1989, that led directly to the deluge of country stars that cascaded onto the charts over the next few years, and being honest, Clint Black was the first.  Many of the stars to come emulated Black, and Brooks with their look, the style, the hat, and the traditional sound that fans could not get enough of then.  Clint Black was in my view, and with every and all due respect to many others, musically, the best of the new traditionalists.

Classic Black #1

 

CB married Hollywood actor Lisa Hartman and had a number one song together.  Black has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, only the 4th country star to do that at the time.  He is a prolific songwriter and in fact would only record songs that he had written or co-written for many years.  He eventually started his own record label and in the last few years of this new century has recorded various albums of his own choosing. He still performs and tours and was here in Akron a few months back. He's won a ton of awards from the CMA, and the ACM and the AMA.  He's been nominated for many, and has won a Grammy.  He has also sold many millions of albums

With His Wife - Big Song!  #1

 

His music is sensational and it was right on time.  He and a few others elevated country to a place it had never been.  Sure, Urban Cowboy made us a temporary hero for a short while with the crossover audience. But as the traditional movement was starting to take hold from about 1986, in 1989, he was the real hero to those who loved their country - COUNTRY.  

Another #1

 

He really helped many people fall in love again with real country, and that is no small feat.  He spearheaded that remarkable class of 1989, that led off and then stampeded through the 1990's.   We needed Clint Black and he was sensational.

Great Song #1

 

He Was AT WQMX A Few Years Ago For An Interview!

clint

Clint Black is a Mega Star by every measure.

Wynn small pic

 

Read 935 times Last modified on Thursday, 21 July 2022 04:51