On This Day in 1989, Clint Black Was at the Top of the Country Chart with a Song That Took a Month to Write

On this day (October 15) in 1989, Clint Black was at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Killin’ Time.” It was the second single and title track from Black’s debut album. The song was also his second consecutive No. 1 on the tally. This, and the other hit singles from his massively successful LP, helped establish Black as one of country music’s brightest rising stars.

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Killin’ Time was a massive hit for Black. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, where it stayed for 31 weeks. It has since been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA. More importantly, the LP and its five hit singles helped Black become a member of the genre’s Class of ’89, a small group of artists who released their debut albums in 1989 and became incredibly successful in the coming decade.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1989, Clint Black’s ‘Killin’ Time’ Debuts on the Country Albums Chart]

“Killin’ Time” may not have been the only hit on the album. It was, however, the most enduring single from the LP. It went on to become Black’s signature song. Now, more than three decades later, it remains his most popular song, garnering hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify alone.

Clint Black Recalls the Long Process that Led to “Killin’ Time”

Like many of his hits, Clint Black wrote “Killin’ Time” with his longtime musical collaborator Hayden Nicholas. In an interview with CMT, he recalled getting the inspiration for the song while waiting for his recording career to take off. At the time, he already had a deal with RCA Nashville and was working on his debut album.

“We were driving to some $50 gig on the north side of Houston, talking about just how long it was taking. I said, ‘I just hope it starts soon because this killin’ time is killin’ me,’” he said. “We looked at each other and our eyes lit up,” he added.

They were able to write most of the song quickly. However, one line stood between Clint, Nicholas, and a finished song. “It was the elusive last line of the chorus that took us about a month to find our way to it,” he recalled.

Black believed he had all of the songs down for his debut album. Then, his management and label heard “Killin’ Time” and knew it belonged on the tracklist.

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