Editing Clint Black (section)

==Early life==
Black was born in [[Long Branch, New Jersey]], the youngest of four children of Ann (Scherma) and Gwin Augusta "G.A." Black, Jr.,<ref name=fdr1>Stated on ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', February 23, 2021</ref><ref name="nydailynews">{{Cite web |last=Roura |first=Phil |date=2006-08-13 |title=Black Comes Back: The country king (and Jersey boy) makes a stop at Harrah's |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/08/13/black-comes-back-the-country-king-and-jersey-boy-makes-a-stop-at-harrahs/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=mitchell1989>{{citation |last=Mitchell |first=Rick |title=Clint Black sees stardom in the offing: First album by Katy, Texas country performer proves that he's for real |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=July 2, 1989 |page=Zest, p. 9 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_634276 |access-date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> and lived in nearby [[Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank]].<ref>Sweetland, Phil. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/nyregion/from-newark-and-environs-to-nashville.html?pagewanted=all "From Newark (and Environs) to Nashville"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 21, 2002. Accessed July 3, 2012. "'I was born in Long Branch, but my parents were living in Red Bank, so that's what I think of as my birthplace,' Mr. Black said."</ref> His maternal great-grandfather was of Italian descent, with roots in [[Palermo, Sicily]].<ref name=fdr1/> The family moved back to Texas, where G.A. Black had been born and raised, before Clint was one year old.<ref name=nydailynews /> He was raised in [[Katy, Texas]]. Music was always present in the house.  Black taught himself to play harmonica before he was 13, and at 14 wrote his first song.  His father remarked that it was at that age that the parents "first noticed that he had a great voice".<ref name=mitchell1989 /> By 15, Black had learned to play guitar.<ref name=graff>{{citation |last=Graff |first=Gary |title=A few word with...Houstonian Clint Black |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=October 1, 1989 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_653411 |access-date=April 9, 2009 |page=Zest, p. 6}}</ref> As a teenager Black joined his elder brothers, Mark, Kevin and Brian, in their small band.  On Saturday afternoons, the family would host backyard barbecues and invite the neighborhood to listen to the boys sing.  Some weekends would attract up to 70 people.<ref name=mitchell1989 /> Black eventually dropped out of high school to play with his brothers,<ref name=hodges2000>{{citation |last=Hodges |first=Ann |title=Every Life a Story: 'Biography' to profile Clint Black, 26 others |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=June 6, 2000 |page=Houston section, p. 8 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2000_3219903 |access-date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> before becoming a solo act.<ref name=mitchell1989 />