On This Day in 1990, Clint Black Was at No. 1 With One of the Greatest Debut Albums in Country Music History

On this day (May 28) in 1990, Clint Black was at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with Killin’ Time. His debut outing spent nearly a year in the peak position and brought Black one of his first major awards. The LP produced five hit singles, four of which topped the Hot Country Songs chart. The other landed comfortably in the top five.

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The tail-end of the 1980s was a great time to be a country fan. After years of increasingly pop-laden albums and singles dominating the charts and airwaves, the pendulum started to swing the other direction. George Strait, Randy Travis, Ricky Van Shelton, Dwight Yoakam, and a handful of other artists ignited new interest in traditional-sounding country music in the middle of the decade. By 1989, the popularity of neotraditional country was reaching its peak.

[RELATED: 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]

This shift in the industry allowed Black to eclipse many of his contemporaries in 1989 and 1990. Killin’ Time introduced an artist who sounded like he studied Merle Haggard’s catalog like it was religious literature and had the western swing of his native Texas in his DNA.

Clint Black Bursts onto the Country Scene

Clint Black was one of a handful of artists who burst into the country music world in 1989. Called the Class of ’89, he, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Travis Tritt released their debut albums just as the 1980s were drawing to an end. Their output sent shockwaves through the genre. Those shockwaves are arguably still rippling through Nashville more than three decades later due largely to the recent renewed interest in neotraditional country from the 1990s.

Killin’ Time made a statement. It reached the top of the country albums chart for the first time in September 1989, just four months after it was released. The LP spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1. It was back at the top for five weeks in January 1990. Then, the album had two 10-week runs. The first began in early May and ended in early July. The next started in early August and ended during the first week of October.

The album also earned Black two Grammy nominations in 1990. The title track was up for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and “A Better Man” was up for Best Country Song. The latter won Single Record of the Year at the ACM Awards. Black picked up Top New Male Vocalist and Top Male Vocalist of the Year that night, as well. He was also named Male Vocalist of the Year at the 1990 CMA Awards.

While Clint Black was never able to replicate the success of Killin’ Time, there is no denying that he left his mark on the genre with his debut outing.

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