Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Singer Naomi Judd dies at age 76
In statement, her daughters cite ‘disease of mental illness’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Naomi Judd, the Kentuckyborn singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76.
The daughters announced her death on Saturday in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
Naomi Judd died near Nashville, according to a statement on behalf of her husband and fellow singer, Larry Strickland.
It said no further details about her death would be released and asked for privacy as the family grieves.
The Judds were to be inducted today into the Country Music Hall of Fame and they recently announced an arena tour to begin in the fall, their first tour together in over a decade.
The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades.
After rising to the top of country music, they called it quits in 1991 after doctors diagnosed Naomi Judd with hepatitis.
The Judds’ hits included “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1990,”Mama He’s Crazy” in 1984, “Why Not Me” in 1984,”Turn It Loose” in 1988, “Girls Night Out” in 1985, “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” in 1986 and “Grandpa” in 1986.
Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Ky., Naomi was working as a nurse in Nashville when she and Wynonna started singing together professionally.
Their unique harmonies, together with elements of acoustic music, bluegrass and blues, made them stand out in the genre at the time.
“We had a such a stamp of originality on what we were trying to do,” Naomi Judd told The AP after it was announced that they would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Judds released six studio albums and an EP between 1984-91 and won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music.
They earned a total of five Grammy Awards together for songs like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love.”
The Judds sang about family, the belief in marriage and virtue of fidelity.
Naomi and Wynonna were often mistaken for sisters early in their career.
They first got attention singing on Ralph Emery’s morning show in early 1980, where the host named them the “Soap Sisters” because Naomi said she used to make her own soap.