A quick look at Clint Black’s Web site reveals the depths of this country music veteran’s professional and personal versatility.

Sure, it opens with the business of concert schedules, but what follows are the activities that come with the job security of a platinum-selling career in its middle stages.

He recently took part in a Got Milk! advertising photo shoot with famed photographer Annie Liebowitz. He’s been a driving force behind a country-based fund-raising effort for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He runs his own music publishing company. He?s an actor, producer and director. He’s back on tour, scheduled to appear at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono.

And then there’s perhaps the most important deviation from the professional grind that is making and marketing music – his 15 months as a first-time father.

“She really is the most beautiful baby in the world, according to me,” said Black of his daughter, Lily Pearl, born May 8, 2001.

In fact, Lily Pearl already has had an impact on Black’s recording efforts – she’s heard on “Lily’s Lullaby,” a track on his most recent CD, “Clint Black Greatest Hits II.”

“I recorded her cooing at 5 weeks of age,” he said in a phone interview recently. “So you can hear the baby’s voice in the song.”

Lily Pearl and actress Lisa Hartman Black, Black’s wife and frequent musical partner, aren’t touring with him yet.

“Lily’s still too young to travel,” he said. “She started walking at 101/2 months. She’s 15 months old now and has gotten very good at it, but in terms of traveling I think we’ll wait until she’s a little more stable.”

But there have been changes. The family sold its California home and now resides exclusively in Nashville, where Black can get home more easily during the off-days of his touring schedule.

There’s also the influence of fatherhood on Black’s songwriting.

“I’m sure it will have an impact,” he said. “I’d already written a few other songs along those lines even before I thought about being a dad. But I want to write some that Lily will enjoy, and I’m sure they’ll spring out of me without much effort.”

Black has put considerable effort into becoming one of country music’s most recognizable figures – the modern-day Man in Black.

A native of Houston, Black was a local nightclub singer for 10 years before signing a record contract with RCA in 1988. A year later, he released his first album, which produced five No. 1 hits including “Nothing’s News,” “Walkin’ Away” and “Nobody’s Home.”

Black has since found a rather palatial home in the music mainstream, with nine platinum, one double-platinum, three triple-platinum and 11 gold albums, including two greatest-hits efforts and perhaps the most well-known of his offerings, the 1999 “D’Electrified.”

In 1996, he was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, the Country Radio Broadcasters presented him with its Humanitarian Award in recognition of his charity work. He also has earned accolades from the Country Music Association, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music and the Nashville Songwriters Association International, which created two special new awards for the artist. He’s won a Grammy Award and has been nominated for more than 10 others.

“I think it comes down to the songwriting, and really hard work,” said Black, a world-class guitarist who has sold more than 18 million albums worldwide. “I’ve tried to keep up with my album production schedule, to make sure I’ve written enough songs so that when it comes time to put together an album I can narrow down the field to enough quality selections to make a good album.”

Typically Black chooses from among 25 to 30 songs to develop an album, seeking great variety in each compilation.

“What I want to have in an album is diversity and dynamic range,” said Black, who has written 31 top-10 songs. “If someone listens to an album, he should be able in an hour or 40 minutes to experience the dynamic range of a good movie or a play.

“I’ve heard other artists talk about being in situations where they have success as balladeers and all their record companies want them to release as singles is ballads, or, if they’re known as rockers, to release only those kinds of tunes. I’ve been able to try to develop a mix, up-tempo songs like ‘Nothin’ But the Taillights’ and ‘Killing Time,’ and ballads like ‘Nobody’s Home’ and ‘Nothing’s News.'”

The Aug. 17 performance at the Maine Center for the Arts is a chance to see Black in a more intimate venue, far removed from the large concert halls that play host to the bulk of his performances.

“Most of the time I’m performing for much larger audiences,” said Black, who leads a nine-piece band that brings its own grand piano to concerts. “But I’ve found over the years that I need to play smaller settings because they’re much more intimate and I need to keep that as a big part of my performances. I enjoy the smaller venues because you can have interaction with the crowd between songs, you can talk to them and they know when you’re saying something tongue-in-cheek. The smaller venue allows you to expand your dynamic range; the selections I’ll play are quite different from what I’ll use if I’m playing before 10,000 or 20,000.

“David Crosby said it best. He said when you play in front of smaller audiences, you work with a finer stroke, and when you play in front of big crowds, it’s a much broader stroke. I enjoy working with that fine stroke.”