As a teenager, Clint Black entertained friends, family and audiences with his harmonious talents, prior to heading out on his music career. However, in addition to his love of music, this southern gentleman loves his family, has a sincere concern about finding a cure for a horrendous disease, and rejoices in fatherhood.

When it comes to music, Clint’s brother Kevin led the way in their Katy home, as the first to pick up a guitar and imitate Elvis Presley at age 8. When his parents, G A and Ann Black, had friends over, they would put on an Elvis record, and Kevin would transform into the king of rock and roll. He loved performing —especially the applause—and knew that was what he wanted to do the rest of his life.

The guitar bug bit Clint, 47, around age 13, and within a couple of years he was writing songs and performing in brother Kevin ’s band, playing bass and singing. In the 1980s, Clint often performed solo performing in coffeehouses and night clubs in and around Katy.

Clint says one of his favorite memories growing up was sitting around the kitchen table with friends and family, singing and cutting up.

“When I hit my teens, we’d play music in the back yard until 3 or so in the morning, or we’d sit around the kitchen table playing songs for our parents,” Clint says.

It wasn’t long before Clint entered a musical talent contest and made it to the finals at the Blue Bonnet Palace in Shultz, Texas.The rest is history, as Kevin says. Clint has become a world-renowned musician and songwriter, and his albums have sold more than 20 million copies. Yet, this father, husband, brother and son also knows the pain of losing a loved one to a fatal disease.

Rett Syndrome

In 2003, Kevin’s daughter, Cortney, lost her battle with Rett syndrome at 16.

Rett syndrome is a devastating neurodevelopment disorder, which typically shows effects between 6 to 18 months of age, and almost exclusively in females, impairing motor coordination, hand use, communication and other brain functions. Rett is also often

“Rett syndrome is a disease that took my niece, which was devastating to my family, ” Clint says.

Kevin remembers his daughter as the sweetest little girl who was normal when she was born.

“Her first year she developed these cute characteristics, all symptoms of Rett but we didn ’t know, we just thought she was so cute. She’d get really excited and twirl her hands, and her whole little face would light up and her eyes would get real big, ” Kevin said.

Then her verbal and social skill developments began to slow down, so the Blacks thought something was wrong. But the doctor simply said she was a lazy child, not recognizing Rett symptoms.

Four months later though, the Blacks knew something was wrong when she began digressing. Eventually, they were referred to the Blue Bird Circle Rett Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Cortney remained an infant the rest of her life. If we had known, we could have started the process of maintaining a healthier life for her earlier, ” Kevin says.

After Cortney’s death, all relationships with Rett syndrome came to an end and Kevin wanted to move on and not look back. But then he was asked to help with a Rett fundraiser, and he said yes.

One event led to another, and before long Clint and other family members joined the challenge of raising funds for research and working with the International Rett Syndrome Foundation.

“To me, helping to raise funds for Rett syndrome means love for my niece, my brother and his family and his wanting to honor his daughter ’s life by helping other children and families afflicted by this disease,” Clint says.

 In the past six years, the Blacks have hosted annual golf tournaments and concerts to raise funds for Rett research and a cure.

Last year the concert was held at Dosey Doe, a western club in The Woodlands, where most of the men in the Black family took part, including Kevin ’s son, Coleton, 17, a singer; brother Brian,

who lives in Bandera and owns and operates the Longhorn Saloon; Mark, who works for a major oil and gas company in Houston; and of course, Kevin, who lives in Katy; and Clint, in from Tennessee. At the end of the show, which was to close at 10 p.m., the Blacks came together on stage and kept the audience rocking until way after 1 a.m.

As a contestant recently on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice, Clint helped raise awareness of the disease by choosing International Rett Syndrome Foundation as his charity of choice. Before leaving, Trump presented a check to Kevin and Clint for $20,000, which added to the $90,000 they raised last year with their two events.

 Even though the Blacks know finding a cure is about helping the kids, they also know finding a cure is about money, the money which provides research.

“This is a very hopeful time, as researchers are down to the number of man hours needed in isolating the gene. They are really close to a major break through in finding the genetic markers, as with so many cancers out there. Isolating the markers may lead to possibly finding treatments that work, or alleviate symptoms. The potential is just around the corner, which is why funding is so important now, ” Clint said.

The next concert to raise funds for Rett will probably be in the fall, and golf tournament plans are already on the drawing board, all of which will be listed on the Web site of the Rett Syndrome Foundation, www.rettsyndrome.org.

The Family Men

The week before Father’s Day, Clint and his wife of 18 years, Lisa Hartman Black, attended an event in New York, which gave them some couple time without their 8-year-old daughter, Lily, who had a surprise waiting for Clint for Father ’s Day.

 “We had dinner and then my daughter had put together a scavenger hunt for me to find all the things she had made for me, she made me feel like a king, ” Clint says, before adding, “Lisa is great; she’s a wonderful mother.”

 Fatherhood to Clint is something he says can not be anticipated, and is much more rewarding and exhausting than anyone could ever tell you.

“It takes lots of energy to do it right and no one can prepare you for it. It is the best job, best title over anything else. It is better than all of the awards, nothing compares to it, ” Clint says.

It would be natural for Lily to follow in her parent’s footsteps, especially since mom and dad know the ropes in the entertainment and movie industry. But according to dad, if she keeps her academics up and applies herself then when she ’s grown she can earn those opportunities.

“Lily takes piano and dance and her school puts on dramas regularly, so she’s involved with all of the activities that provide kids with a good foundation. As she gets older, she may have natural abilities, but just like with all kids though, if she does not apply herself, she will not realize her full potential. It ’s like her piano lessons, it is not so much about the piano as it is about the self-discipline to practice, ” Clint said.

Like every parent, Clint wants his daughter to have a balanced life and to fill it with all the colors of the rainbow, which are words from the song, Colors of the Wind, in Walt Disney’s movie

What’s Next

Clint will be touring the rest of the summer and does not expect to have any new music until near the end of the year. Yet, as of June 22 he began cracking the notebooks for a new album, pulling together the songs and the direction of the music. Clint also is now working with a new record company.

He also just finished a movie in Canada, Flicker 2, in which he plays Patrick, the ranch foreman. The movie will be available on DVD by the first of the year.

“I love acting, and when I received the offer to do Flicker, I said yes. I loved working with the director and was able to prepare for this movie. The character is someone I can relate to, which made it more enjoyable than some of the other things I ’ve done in the past,” Clint said.

After wrapping the movie, Clint called his agent and said, “Let’s do some more of this.” Now the acting parts are beginning to land on his doorstep, not only for the big screen but for television as well.

As far as getting to Houston more, Clint says he tries to at least be here four or five times a year, but he wishes it was more.

“I really miss my family. One good thing is we stay in touch by phone or e-mail regularly, so when we get together for a golf game or something, we pick up where we left off, ” Clint says.l

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