On the Charts in 1991, Clint Black Was at No. 1 With the Song That Proved He Wouldn’t Suffer From the Dreaded Sophomore Slump

On this day (April 4) in 1991, Clint Black was at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart with “Loving Blind.” The song spent two weeks at No. 1 and helped him avoid the sophomore slump.

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Like many artists, Black had years to put together his debut album. As a result, Killin’ Time was a major hit. It topped the country albums chart, and four of its five singles went to No. 1. The fifth single, “Nothing’s News,” peaked at No. 3. His sophomore album, Put Yourself in My Shoes, was released a little more than 19 months later in November 1990. While the LP topped the chart, its singles didn’t perform as well as those from his debut.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1990, Clint Black Was at No. 1 With One of the Most Successful Debut Country Albums Ever]

First, Black released the album’s title track as its lead single. “Put Yourself in My Shoes” peaked at No. 4, which was his lowest charting single at the time. “Loving Blind” returned him to the top of the chart. Then, “One More Payment” stalled at No. 7. Black’s next single, “Where Are You Now,” took him back to the top of the country charts.

Black dominated the country chart for the rest of the decade. He missed the top 5 four times between the end of 1991 and the beginning of 2000, with one of those songs landing in the top 10.

Clint Black Didn’t Write Songs on the Road

When Clint Black’s career shifted into high gear in 1989, he spent months at a time on the road. However, he and his frequent co-writer, Hayden Nicholas, didn’t write while they were touring. Black explained why and how they found time to get the work done in an interview.

“We try not to write on the road because of the distractions and the lack of energy that you have to devote to other things,” he revealed. “I’ve always been concerned about creating a stigma subconsciously that I can’t write anymore. So, I try not to put myself in that position,” he added.

“We try to block out a couple of weeks here and a couple of weeks there. I’d say we’ve got about an album to a month ratio. If we can block out two weeks, we’ll write about five songs. It’s worked pretty well that way, so we try to keep that as our rule,” Black explained.

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