Singer and TV star Naomi Judd, best known for nearly four decades as the mum of country music duo Gods, died Saturday at the age of 76. The cause of death was not immediately determined, although daughters Winona Judd and Ashley Judd in a statement attributed their mother’s death to “mental illness”.“Today we sisters witnessed a tragedy,” the Associated Press quoted the statement as saying. “We have lost our beautiful mother to a mental illness. We broke. We are dealing with a deep heartbreak and know that just as we loved her, so did her fans. We are in uncharted territory.”
A statement from publicist Naomi Judd said her husband, 32-year-old Larry Strickland, “will not make any further statements. Naomi Judd’s family requests privacy during this heartbreaking time. No additional information will be released at this time.”
The announcement came a day before Gods was officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at a medal ceremony in Nashville. Representatives of the Hall of Fame could not be reached for comment on whether the ceremony would be canceled or continued in some way.
– Judges (@Juddsofficial) April 30, 2022
The Gods also recently announced a farewell tour, the first by Naomi and Winona in over a decade. The 10-dating short tour, which was produced by Sandbox Live and Live Nation, was scheduled to begin September 30 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and end October 28 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. “What I look forward to most is celebrating Judd’s music with fans,” Winona said in a statement when the tour was announced. “My mum and I have been on the journey for the past 38 years, and the fans have been with us all that time. This tour is a celebration for them.” Three of the track shows, including the Nashville Final, have been sold out, according to Goods’ social media.
The Judds performed on the CMT Music Awards telecast and walked the red carpet just this month (see photo below). The show aired live on CBS on April 11, the same day the duo announced their reunion/farewell tour.
Naomi Judd and Winona Judd of The Judds at the 2022 CMT Music Awards held at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on April 11, 2022
Christopher Polk
As a duo, Gods has mostly remained dormant in recent decades, with periodic reunions. They first broke up after doing what was billed as a final show in 1991, around the time Naomi Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis C. After that, Winona embarked on a successful career as a solo artist while her mother did disease awareness. They met again on the “Power to Change” tour at the turn of the millennium.
Naomi Judd has published nine books, the most recent of which was the memoir “River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Raised with Hope” released in 2016. Other titles included “Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully: Being Your Best Behind for the Rest of Your Life” (2007), “Naomi’s Breakthrough Guide: 20 Choices to Change Your Life” (2004) and several children’s books.
In the 1980s, Gods had a streak of eight consecutive number-one singles, including “Why Not Me” and “Mama’s Crazy” with their breakout in 1983, followed by songs like “Girls’ Night Out” “,” Grandpa (Tell Me About the Old Days)” and “Rock with the Rhythm of Rain.” Their last singles were “Stuck in Love” in 2000. They haven’t released an album with original material as a duo since “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1990, but their line of hit singles in the ’80s have continued to appear frequently on country radio to this day.
The duo won Best Duo/CMA Awards from 1985-91, winning nine CMAs altogether. Their eight Academy of Country Music Awards included Best Vocal Duo from 1984 through 1990. They won five Grammy Awards during that time as well, including Best Country Song for “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
judges
Courtesy of Fox
Judd became a popular television personality outside of the singing limelight, leading her 2003-2004 stint as a judge on “Star Search” to her two-season talk show, “Naomi’s New Morning” on Hallmark Channel. Other series appearances have included “Can You Duet?” on CMT and “My Cooking Rules” on Fox, acting gigs in the TV movies “The Killing Game” and “A Holiday Romance” and the theatrical feature “More American Graffiti”.
Diana Ellen Judd was born on January 11, 1946 in Ashland, Kentucky. She has often talked about raising Winona and Ashley as a single parent after her divorce from their father, Michael Semenella. She attended nursing school at Marin College, in California, with the goal of eventually becoming a doctor. “I was going to use my RN degree to support myself and put myself through medical school,” she said He said in an interview in 1995. “I had this romantic concept of working with people in Appalachia, my people.” But then “When Wynonna and I started singing together—she desperately needed a new direction in life—it quickly became apparent that this was what we were supposed to do.”
In a 2016 interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America to promote her memoir, she said that child sexual abuse had led to depression that she described as “extreme”, “very deep, utterly debilitating, and life-threatening.” Judd told Roberts, “I had to realize that I somehow had to raise myself. We all have that inner child, and I needed, for the first time in my life, to realize I got a crude deal, well, now I’m a big girl. Put on your huge pants and treat yourself.” with him”.
I talked about existence “Little” at the time of Winona, who said “We bore the brunt of all the mistakes I made… We went through a lot of therapy together… From the day I knew she existed, the two of us were against the world and then through the decades we kind of grew up together, “cause we were really alone. I always tell her, “If I had known better, I would have done better.”
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