A Black Christmas

Clint Black hasn't thought much about Christmas. Yet.

But sometime this extended holiday weekend, it will just happen. Family is coming over to his Nashville, Tenn., home for a traditional celebration. His wife and daughter will be there, and he's excited to see his newborn niece.

"My mind's on Thanksgiving," he says.

But someone will turn on the radio to one of those nonstop Christmas music stations, and away he'll go. The timing also works considering his next tour, which will bring him on Thursday to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Black says the upcoming run of dates are more Christmastime shows than they are purely Christmas shows.

"It's our concert, but we include Christmas songs," he says by phone. "It's the stuff we do best from our live album."

He has plenty of Christmas songs from which to choose, and unlike many, his are originals. Not long after the release of his breakthrough album in 1989, his former record label wanted an album of Christmas songs. Everyone else was recording versions of standards, and "I didn't have it in me," Black says.

So he took it upon himself to write some new songs in the Christmas tradition. He initially worried he wouldn't have anything new to add but soon found a wealth of material. Songs such as "Milk and Cookies" now hold a place of reverence near some of his more traditional hits such as "A Better Man" and "Killin' Time."

Black has recently been working on those songs, too. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the album "Killin' Time," which included both of those traditional hits, Black has returned to the studio with his current band to record his debut album just like it is played now on the road. He owes much to that album, which quickly made him a contemporary of other new artists of the era such as Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks.

"I worked really hard. It ('Killin' Time') established me so firmly, I would be fine as long as I didn't screw it up," Black says.

He never did, even if some of his later albums failed to meet the lofty expectations set by his debut. He also found fame as a television personality and actor, appearing regularly on the "Larry Sanders Show," on the second season of "Celebrity Apprentice" and in the movies "Flicka 2" and "Flicka 3." People attend his live concerts for any combination of those things.

Those who do come on Thursday will see Black and a streamlined version of his touring band. The night begins with Black performing solo, and he promises to do a new song during that segment. Black says he's nearly finished with a full album's worth of material, and he says he's in the negotiations phase of a new record deal after several years of going it alone.

He may not be fully into the Christmas spirit just yet, but he's certainly looking forward to the new year, with both the new album and an upcoming video series that will chronicle the making of his debut album. But he's got to get through the holidays first.

This year, he'd like a new sweater, he says. He knows there's a joke in that somewhere. And he's looking forward to his return from the road. He'll be home in time for a Christmas movie night with his family.

Actually, maybe Black has already thought a lot about Christmas this year.