THE MAN IN BLACK: CLINT BLACK WILL KICK OFF TOUR IN CAPE GIRARDEAU JULY 22

Cape Girardeau reminds country singer Clint Black of a time in his career when he was without number one singles or million-selling albums. This is the city where he and his band performed their first concert after getting their first tour bus in 1989.

"I think the place we were at was called Bill & Chas," said Black in a telephone interview this week from his home in Los Angeles.

"We weren't disappointed with the crowd there," he said. "It was a small audience compared to the big audience of thousands of people we usually have now, but they were real enthusiastic."

And they should have been. Success was just around the corner when Black make his initial visit to Cape Girardeau May 18, 1989. Three years later, the singer has already had two successful albums and has just released a third.

Given his "roots" in Cape Girardeau, it's appropriate that Black will kick off his 1992 tour July 22 at the Show Me Center. He will be promoting his third album, "The Hard Way," set for release July 14.

The musician now spends his time between tours at his homes in Los Angeles and Nashville. He said the difference between his appearance three years ago at Bill & Chas and his shows now are not only the size of the audience but the caliber of his shows.

"It's a big change," he said. "A big audience provides me with the ability to put so much more into the show, with state of the art technology to make it sound great and look as good as we can."

Black's new $300,000 stage set was created by Universal Studios.

But he will disclose little about the stage other than it includes huge video screens on either side of the stage. "It's got some surprises," he acknowledged. "Let's just say that."

Black, 30, takes his success in stride. He said since 1989 when his career first began to take off, each year has been more exciting.

But because he hasn't released an album in 20 months, he is yet to cash in on the recent surge in the popularity of country music, brought about by enormously successful country newcomers who have broadened the audience and produced millions of new country fans.

"Since all that happened with Garth (Brooks) and Travis (Tritt), I can't really gage what will happen to me," he said. "But I'm a real optimist, and I think I can enjoy a little of that too."

His third album, "The Hard Way," is his best work, he said.

"I feel it's my best album yet, and it's the one I'm proudest of."

It was Black's debut album, released in March, 1989, that produced five number one singles and catapulted him into the country spotlight. That album, "Killin' Time" hit number one on Billboard's country album chart a position it held for 31 weeks.

Number one singles included "A Better Man," which topped the chart in May and was the first debut single by a new male country artist to reach number one in 15 years. It also included the title cut, "Killin" Time," "Nobody's Home," "Walking Away" and "Nothing's News."

His second album, released in November 1990, was called "Put Yourself In My Shoes." Combined sales for both albums exceeded four million.

The first single from, "The Hard Way," titled "We Tell Ourselves," was released June 4.

The 1992 tour will take him to 150 cities in six months, and he'll perform in five cities a week. Black co-produced "The Hard Way," and wrote all the songs on the album. "We Tell Ourselves" is about the classic battle between reason and emotion, he said.

"The song is about the inner conflict we all have, whether it's in love or business. Your heart's telling you one thing, and your head is telling you another thing," he said. "Sometimes you go for it and sometimes you don't."

Black is in Los Angeles this week rehearsing, but will return to Nashville next week where his studio is located. He keeps two residences since his marriage in October to television star Lisa Hartman. He said the marriage has had a positive effect on both him and his music.

"If anyone knows what a great person Lisa is and has been, maybe they'll think more of me. (The relationship) sheds a bit of light on myself. When I think about the kind of person I married it makes me proud," he said.

He said traveling between the two homes is "really just a matter of a four-hour plane ride. When we're here we have a home and when we're there we have a home."

Black, a native of Houston, started out as most aspiring singers do on a tight budget, playing small clubs and traveling by van. Since making it big, he's performed at Carnegie Hall in a sold-out performance with K.T. Oslin and has received several awards for his music and songwriting.

They include Album of the Year, Best New Male Vocalist and Best Male Vocalist in 1990 from the Academy of Country Music; Favorite New Male Country Artist in 1990 from the American Music Awards; and Songwriter\Artist of the Year in 1990 from the Nashville Songwriters Association.

It's a far cry from being the kid who used to sing with his brothers at backyard barbecues, and who, after graduating from high school, worked in construction while trying to make it as a singer.

He spent six years playing in clubs around Houston before acquiring a manager. That man was Bill Ham, who also managed ZZ Top. Ham arranged for Black to meet with Nashville producer James Stroud, who eventually produced Black's first two albums

Black said "The Hard Way" tour has demanded a large dose of effort to produce and take on the road. His goal is that his third album and tour will be successful enough to enable him to produce another album and subsequently produce a fourth tour.

"I think this album shows the most growth for me," he said. "I was proud of my second album, but I wasn't nearly as happy with it as I am with this one."

Tickets for Black's 7:30 performance go on sale Saturday at the Show Me Center, Schnucks, Disc Jockey Records, the University Center, Mercantile Banks and by phone from the Show Me Center Box Office at 651-5000. Reserved seats are $18.50.