On This Day in 1996, Clint Black Released a Stormy Love Song That Broke the Mold and Became His 10th No. 1

On this day (September 2) in 1996, Clint Black released “Like the Rain” as the lead single from his Greatest Hits album. It reached No. 1 on the country singles chart in late October and stayed there for three consecutive weeks. It was Black’s tenth single to top the chart. Moreover, the track’s production showed that he could break away from the formula on which he built his career and still succeed.

Black burst onto the country music scene in 1989 with his debut single “A Better Man.” It was the first of four consecutive No. 1 singles. It also introduced listeners to the Bakersfield Sound-inspired formula that he would adhere to for the next few years. “Like the Rain” broke the mold.

Black didn’t employ the same Telecaster twang for this single. Instead, it is mostly backed by piano, acoustic guitar, and drums. Unlike previous releases, the instrumentation takes a backseat to his vocals. In this way, the song connected with more modern production as well as the Nashville Sound formula that was popular in the 1960s. However, he never leaned as far into the pop world as either of those production styles.

One thing that “Like the Rain” and most of his earlier hits had in common is that Black wrote it with Hayden Nicholas, his longtime bandleader, guitarist, friend, and songwriting partner.

Clint Black Reflects on His Songwriting

Clint Black has sent 13 singles to the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. He wrote or co-wrote all of them. In an interview, Black revealed what helped him become the songwriter he is today.

First and foremost, he has always had a strong work ethic. In his teens, he worked a door-to-door sales job six days a week. More often than not, his would-be customers shut the door in his face. This helped prepare him for the years of rejection he faced before landing his record deal. He also credits his lineage.

“I think part of it is genetic, on my mom’s side of the family. The other part is just loving the music so much that I ingested the lyrics in a way that sort of gave me an intuitive and encyclopedic knowledge of great lyrics that I wanted to strive to have,” he explained.

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