Naomi Judd, of Grammy-winning duo The Judds, dies at 76
Country music singer Naomi Judd, of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds, died at the age of 76.
Her daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd announced the death in a statement posted Saturday on Ashley Judd’s Instagram page.
“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.”
Further details were not immediately available.
The Judds, composed of Naomi and Wynonna, were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. Earlier this month, they announced that they were hitting the road for “The Final Tour.” It would have been 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.
Originally from Kentucky, Naomi was working as a nurse 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.
The Judds released six studio albums and an EP between 1984 and 1991 and won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music. They earned a total of five Grammy Awards together on hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love.”
The Judds sang about family, the belief in marriage and the virtue of fidelity. The two were often mistaken for sisters early in their career.
Daughter Ashley Judd is an actor known for her roles in such movies as “Kiss the Girls,” ″Double Jeopardy” and “Heat.”
Naomi Judd is also survived by her husband and fellow singer, Larry Strickland, who was a backup singer for Elvis Presley.
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