Clint Black Joins AGR for 'What Makes America Great 2023'

During the second hour of The American Ground Radio 4th of July Special, ‘What Makes America Great!’ Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone were joined by Country Music Superstar Clint Black who told AGR his favorite thing about touring our vast and beautiful country.

Stephen Parr: And joining us now, American Hero, country Music Star, icon, Clint Black, happy 4th of July. And welcome to our American Ground Radios. What Makes America Great Radio Special,

Clint Black: Happy Independence Day.

Stephen Parr: We, we are, we are so excited to be talking to you. You have been, I think probably everywhere in this country. I, I don't, I don't know if there's any place in the country you haven't been. You're out on tour again. You got your summers coming tour. And then I love the, the mostly hits and the misses. Not, not the in M I S S E, but the m mrs going out with, uh, your wife, Lisa Hartman Black. What is your favorite thing about touring this country?

Clint Black: Oh, it's, it's playing for audiences. You know, all the rest of it is just, uh, travel and sleeping in a bed, bed that bounces down the road. And, uh, you know, we're a little family out there touring, even when Lisa and our daughter is, uh, aren't out with us. And, uh, uh, you know, most of my guys have been with me a long time, some over 35 years. And, uh, so we have our fun, but a lot of it's just the, the tdm of travel. So we do all that, uh, to get on stage. And, uh, audiences we're lucky. We're not like, you know, uh, athletes, you know, who might get booed, <laugh>. I don't want to encourage anyone to start that, but, uh, we have a great time on stage.

Stephen Parr: That's outstanding. So we've been asking folks all day thought we'd ask you to. What is it you think makes America great?

Clint Black: Well, I think it's the Constitution and, uh, the mechanisms to correct wrongs and, uh, for the people, uh, to have the, uh, opportunities and the means to, uh, reshape the country, reshape the policies, uh, try to, uh, undo, uh, in things like slavery and, uh, give women the right, uh, to vote and, and, uh, you know, uh, just, just the amendments, the, the, uh, uh, convention of the states. All these things that are built in there because the, the, the framers knew that they didn't know everything and they couldn't predict what would happen. So it's a, it's a ship that's sailing along, and the, uh, the, the genius of the, uh, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is that, uh, it knows it's gonna have to change course and, uh, and write itself. And so I, it's in the hands of the people, and the people just have to understand what those mechanisms are. They just have to know, uh, that, uh, you, you don't implicitly trust anyone with power. You have to watch them, and you have to make, uh, changes to things based on what people do with that power.

Stephen Parr: Now, now you released a single not too long ago titled America, you called it a Love Letter to This Country. What does that song mean to you?

Clint Black: Well, I, I, I think what it means, um, and what hopefully it means to everyone is, uh, is that, uh, just like a, a a friend or a spouse or a parent, uh, any relative, uh, people are going to get it wrong. Um, and, uh, and you can find fault with them and still love them. And, uh, and that, uh, thus it is for me with America, uh, you know, this whole country, uh, isn't responsible really for the wrongdoings of government officials and, and, uh, you know, elected politicians and bureaucrats. Uh, people just as it is with religion, can do things that are counter to that religion, are counter to, uh, the, uh, the laws of the land. So, uh, you can, you can see, you know, that maybe you have a parent who wasn't that great of a parent. Maybe they tried their best, maybe they weren't always at their best. You can still love them and not like, uh, some of the things they did.

Stephen Parr: Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Well said. We're speaking with country music star Clint Black here on the 4th of July. Uh, do, do you have special things that you and your family like to do on the 4th of July?

Clint Black: Uh, typically, uh, like to try to see some fireworks, you know, that goes all the way back to Sure. Uh, the first celebrations, uh, of independence. And, uh, you know, that, uh, it's just always fun to watch, fun to see. We try to light off a few ourselves, uh, and try to just, uh, be reverent and understand, uh, what the day means. You know, the, uh, uh, I read John Adams, uh, biography and when he was making those horseback trips to Philadelphia from Boston, uh, risking his life and limb and, and, uh, you know, uh, everything he'd worked for, uh, he was at the age then that I was, when I was reading the book. And I remember thinking, I don't think I'd be making that trip <laugh>. I just don't know if I have that kind of courage. You know? Uh, that's, that's always wonder about, you know, they, uh, they're often said to be, you know, uh, old men, but many of them were really young. Yeah. And, uh, I think John Adams was 41. I think that's how old I was when I was reading the book. Wow. So, uh, it was a lot on the line, and the punishment was death. And, uh, and so, you know, you have to remember that. You have to remember all of those who fought and died subsequently, uh, to keep this thing together.

Stephen Parr: All right. Now, and I know we're running out of time. One more question, though. You know, obviously you love this country. Do you remember, think back, do you remember when you first realized there was something special, something exceptional about this nation?

Clint Black: You know, the first, the first image that came to mind was, uh, sitting with the family in 1969, watching the moon landing. Um, you know, uh, I, I don't think at, at that age, uh, seven years old, I was really, uh, uh, I, I don't think I was able to look at that and, and, and say, wow, this country's special. Uh, I, I think it really, it really started to sink in. Yeah, I'm a high school dropout. I was a terrible student. I couldn't figure out how to take notes and study and all of that. And within a year of dropping out before not making it into my senior year, I realized just how much I had, uh, wasted. And I started reading nonfiction and, uh, history books and everything I could get to try to, uh, you know, uh, undo that waste. And, and, uh, probably it was, it was then, you know, 19, 20 years old, I really started to realize, uh, you know, that, uh, that this is something very special, very unique.

You know, a lot of people who are growing up now think about, uh, America in terms of, uh, uh, of course it exists, but, you know, from the beginning of time until America, nothing like it ever did. Uh, you know, it was, uh, it was very unique and, and, uh, you know, for someone to be in power like George Washington and then step aside willingly, you know, that just didn't happen. And, uh, you know, so, you know, that I, I, I, I hope that these things will be taught more and more, or maybe there's student, students out there who, you know, will be like me and seek out this, this, uh, knowledge, uh, to, to fully appreciate it. You know, you, you, you can look at all the wrongdoings. You can look at, uh, what, what hasn't worked, uh, but the, uh, the prosperity, the, the, uh, standard of living. All of these things that, uh, have come about as a result of this unique experiment, uh, they're unparalleled.

Stephen Parr: Clint Black, thank you so much for spending some time with us here on our 4th of July, and happy 4th of July to you.