NASHVILLE – Grammy-winning country singer Naomi Judd, one half of the mother-daughter duo The Judds, died Saturday. She was 76.
Judds’ daughters Wynonna and Ashley announced her death on Saturday.
“Our sisters experienced a tragedy today. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness, ”Both sisters tweeted. “We are devastated. We navigate deeply sadly and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her audience. We are in an unknown area. ” The statement did not elaborate further.
Deaths of celebrities 2022: Remember those we lost
The Judds would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.
The duo has 14 no. 1 hit over three decades, and divorced in 1991 as an act after doctors diagnosed Naomi Judd with hepatitis. Between 1984 and 1991 alone, The Judds had 20 top-10 hits, counting five Grammys, nine CMA awards and seven Academy of Country Music awards.
Naomi Judd dies at 76: Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, more stars remember the country legend
Since arriving in Music City in 1979, The Judds have been the basis of country music’s continued pop evolution through the 1980s and beyond.
In a 2019 interview with The Tennessean (part of the USA TODAY Network), Wynonna noted of her and her mother’s careers: “She was 36 and I was 18. To go from the outhouse to the White House, to know that we are from welfare to millionaire, and we are the American dream.People are going to see it and see themselves in us.It’s important to remember we are a mother and daughter who came out of nowhere and made it… and if we can do it, you can too. ”
In 2016, Naomi opened up about her battle with depression and told in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she was diagnosed with major depression and spent time in psychiatric hospitals. She said at the time that she was confronting ongoing issues from her childhood as part of her therapy, including being molested by a family member when she was 3 years old.
Naomi was born Diana Ellen Judd on January 11, 1946 in Ashland, Kentucky. A music-gifted honorary student has become pregnant, but married Michael Ciminella – instead of the child’s biological father. She missed her high school graduation to give birth to that child, Christina (Wynonna), in 1964.
Wynonna Judd shares Bono’s best advice:Plus, why she feels ‘very sister-mom’ to Billie Eilish
Naomi’s musical desires continued as she raised Wynonna in the midst of great unrest.
By 1972, Naomi and her husband had moved to Los Angeles, where she also gave birth to Wynonna’s sister Ashley. In the same period, however, she and Ciminella also divorced. Naomi tried to put together a life for her family in LA as a welfare recipient who also works as a secretary, waitress and model, but eventually moved back to Kentucky.
“We (lived) on a mountaintop in Kentucky. We did not have a telephone or a TV,” she told The Tennessean in 2021. “We were so broken and wore flea market dresses. We had these fantasies, and we were really stupid. We had such a sense of humor. And (we were) so eager to try new things and make fun of ourselves. ”
After a brief stint back in LA, Naomi moved the family to Nashville in 1979 and took a job as a nurse at a hospital in Franklin, Tennessee. She also formed a duo with her then 19-year-old daughter: The Judds. By 1983, she had met producer Brent Maher, and the duo had been signed to RCA Records. A year later, their single “Mama, He’s Crazy” topped Billboard’s country charts.
After that hit, The Judds had an almost consecutive run of 14 no. Enjoyed 1 hits, including “Why Not Me”, “Love Is Alive” and Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).
Joe Galante, then CEO of RCA Records, reminded The Tennessean that Conway Twitty, when he heard The Judds, told him, “Boy, I want to tell you. I heard The Judds. You have a wonderful thing done for country music. ” Then he rang off. “
Naomi and Wynonna parted ways in 1991 as a recording tandem after Naomi was diagnosed with life-threatening hepatitis C. They reunited in 2010 and 2011 for an extensive farewell tour and performed together at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in 2017, as part of an all-star tribute to Kenny Rogers.
Last year saw a revival of popularity in The Judds as they were named along with Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake as 2022 inducters in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
After being named Hall of Fame Inductions, Naomi told The Tennessean: “I felt so much anonymous about my life. I felt neglected. … So suddenly someone said, ‘Hey, wait a minute. “You did it. Something right. You actually got it right, and someone else is empowering you.” That means it has to be real. ”
The Jews also had their 1990 No. kicks off on September 30 in Michigan.
Daughter Ashley Judd is an actor known for her roles in movies such as “Kiss the Girls,” “Double Jeopardy” and “Heat.”
Crisis Text Line offers free, 24/7, confidential SMS support to people in crisis when they call 741741.
Contributors: Melissa Ruggieri and Elise Brisco, USA TODAY, and Dave Paulson, The (Nashville) Tennessean
