On This Day in 1990, Clint Black Was at No. 1 With the Album That Proved He Was a Force To Be Reckoned With

On this day (May 20) in 1990, Clint Black was at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with his debut album Killin’ Time. The album spent 31 nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot. Additionally, it produced four No. 1 singles. This immediate success solidified Black’s place among country music’s new crop of major stars.

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Black was a member of country music’s famed “Class of ’89.” He, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Travis Tritt released their debut albums in 1989. They went on to have huge careers throughout the 1990s and beyond. More importantly, their output was highly influential in shaping the genre’s sound in one of its most commercially successful decades. Their focus on traditional country arrangements, storytelling, and authenticity was the blueprint from which 90s country was built.

The success of Black’s debut album is a perfect example of the stranglehold this handful of artists had on the country music world at the time.

Clint Black Plants His Flag on the Country Charts

Clint Black released his debut single, “A Better Man,” in February 1989. It topped the Hot Country Songs chart for a week in June. Next, Black released the album’s title track in July. It brought him his second No. 1. “Nobody’s Home” came in October, topping the chart for three weeks. He dropped “Walkin’ Away” in February 1990. It was a two-week No. 1.

“Nothing’s News” was the only single from Killin’ Time to miss the top of the country chart. It stalled at No. 3.

His debut album’s dominance over the chart was truly impressive. He released it on May 2, 1989. It reached the top spot in late September and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. Killin’ Time was back at No. 1 in late January 1990 for five weeks. Then, in May, it returned to the top spot for a ten-week run. The LP shot back to the top in August for its final ten-week stay.

In total, Killin’ Time held the top of the chart for 31 weeks. By the end of 1990, Clint Black was back at No. 1 with his sophomore album, Put Yourself in My Shoes.

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