I thought we’d share a little country music this week, focusing on the ladies.
Today’s selection: The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna Judd (born in 1964). Signed to RCA Records in 1983, the duo released six studio albums between then and 1991. One of the most successful acts in country music history, The Judds won five Grammy Awards for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and eight Country Music Association awards. The duo also charted twenty-five singles on the country music charts between 1983 and 2000, fourteen of which went to Number One and six more of which made Top Ten on the same chart.
The Judds called it quits in 1991 after Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Shortly after, Wynonna began her solo career. The two have occasionally reunited for special tours, the most recent of which began in late 2010.
Reunion shows[edit]
Wynonna and Naomi briefly reunited for a commercial for the retail chain Kmart, performing as the Judds on the song “Changing For the Better”. The duo also performed several shows in 1998. During this time, the duo also charted one more single credited to The Judds, as well as receiving an Academy of Country Music nomination for Duo of the Year in 2001.[2] In addition, Naomi sang harmony on Wynonna’s 2004 single “Flies on the Butter (You Can’t Go Home Again)”, although this song was credited as “Wynonna with Naomi Judd”.
In 2008, The Judds once again reunited for a concert at the 2008 Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California,[3] as well as two shows in Canada, including one at the world famous Calgary Stampede and another at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in Merritt, British Columbia. In 2009, The Judds performed at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville.
In February 2010, Wynonna Judd appeared on CBS’s The Early Show and announced that she would reunite with Naomi, to tour and record a studio album for the final time as The Judds by the end of 2010. The tour, known as the Last Encore Tour, became an 18-city tour of the US that was expanded to 29 dates in 2011.[4]
On September 14, 2010, The Judds appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show where Wynonna discussed “her recent weight loss, her year of living dangerously and what it’s like going back on stage as part of the iconic duo, The Judds.”[5] The Judds also performed their new single “I Will Stand By You,” which was released on iTunes that same day.[6] In March 2011, Curb Records announced the release of The Judds’ new album, I Will Stand by You: The Essential Collection, which features two new songs and twelve of the duo’s hits. The album was released on April 5, 2011.
