The Complex Origins of The Judds

The Judds, the mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, is one of the most successful acts in country music history. But they walked a rough road to get there. As natives of Kentucky, Naomi and Wynonna grew from impoverished beginnings to being one of the most beloved acts to come out of Nashville in the 1980s. Below, we explore the complex history of The Judds.

The elder Naomi was born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, in 1946 on January 11. She welcomed daughter Christina Ciminella in 1964 on May 30, who later changed her name to Wynonna. In a 2020 interview, Naomi opened up about how she had been “date raped” and impregnated when she was 17, giving birth to Wynonna when she was 18. She soon married Michael Ciminella and moved to Los Angeles where they had a daughter, future actress Ashley Judd, in April 1968 and had relocated to Los Angeles, ultimately divorcing in 1972.

The Judd matriarch moved back to Kentucky to the town of Morrill with her daughters to raise them as a single mother and went to school to become a nurse to support her family. It’s where Wynonna learned about music. She and her mother discovered they had a gift for harmonies. Her mother would play records by bluegrass singers Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard.

“As these women harmonized together, it came to me: Wynonna and I couldn’t talk to each other, but, low and behold, we could sing together,” Naomi recalls to PBS. “Their songs were not just a balm between the two of us, but they were teaching Wynonna the history of country music.” They eventually moved to Nashville in hopes of getting a record deal as a duo. That dream became a reality when they scored an audition with RCA Records in 1983. The label instantly signed them. But the journey to get there was wrought with poverty and abuse. “If we didn’t make it or grow it, we didn’t have it,” Wynonna remarked of her upbringing in Kentucky.

Having overcome countless obstacles, The Judds quickly became one of country music’s beloved acts when they released their debut album, Why Not Me, in 1985, which contained the chart-topping hits, “Love Is Alive,” “Girls Night Out,” “Mama He’s Crazy” and the title track. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, they released six studio albums, with all but one reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Other well-known hits include “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days,” “Give a Little Love,” “Change of Heart” and “Love Can Build a Bridge.”

Despite the success, there was also struggle behind the scenes as tensions ensued between the twosome “We’re mother and daughter; there’s no way to change that dynamic,” Wynonna shared with American Songwriter. “It was me learning how to try to find the joy in the experience and not allow that particular agitation of mother correcting me or saying, ‘You need to not wear your lipstick so dark.’ It was learning to be better, not bitter. That was the biggest challenge, was to learn how to let the music be the loudest noise in my head.”

The duo disbanded in 1991 after Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and had to stop touring. This led to Wynonna becoming a solo act, reuniting with her mother for a series of shows over the years. Throughout their career, The Judds won five Grammy Awards and nine CMA Awards. Naomi took her own life on April 30, 2022, one day before The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her daughter continued on with The Judds: The Final Tour in 2022 and 2023.

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