Killin' Time

Clint Black had just signed with RCA Nashville in 1989 when he released "Killin' Time" in July of that year. Co-written with Hayden Nicholas, the song was the second single and title track from his debut album. It reached number one on both the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart, giving Black his second chart-topper in a row. When Billboard compiled its year-end Hot Country Singles chart for 1989, the song landed at No. 2 for the entire year, trailing only Black's own "A Better Man."

The twin successes of "A Better Man" and "Killin' Time" helped Black win the Country Music Association's Horizon Award in 1989. The song also brought him the first of his four Grammy nominations for Best Country Male Vocal Performance. In 2024, Rolling Stone placed it at #144 on its list of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.

A music video directed by Bill Young premiered in July 1989, the second of Black's career. It was filmed at a Sealy, Texas bar called My Place, its actual name at the time, though the venue later became the Saddleback Saloon. In the video, Black addresses a woman named Minnie, named for the bar's original owner. He wears a "Don't Mess with Texas" T-shirt in one scene and a striped shirt in another, and sets his guitar down at the end. His brothers made cameos too: Brian appeared dancing on the floor around the 2:50 mark, and Kevin played an older version of Clint.