The country music duo, made up of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Naomi Judd, of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and the mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, died on Saturday. She was 76.
Ashley Judd, the actress, confirmed her mother’s death on Twitter. She did not specify a cause of death but said, “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”
Scott Adkins, a publicist, said Ms. Judd died on Saturday outside Nashville but did not give a more specific location.
The country music duo The Judds, made up of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. They had just announced their final tour — and their first together in a decade. It was to begin in the fall.
The mother-daughter duo had 14 No. 1 singles during a three-decade career.
The Judds’ hits included “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not Me,” (both in 1984); “Girls Night Out” (1985); “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” and “Grandpa” (both in 1986); “Turn It Loose” (1988); and “Love Can Build a Bridge” (1990).
They won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven awards from the Academy of Country Music. They also won five Grammy Awards for hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love.”
The pair stopped performing and recording in 1991, after Naomi Judd learned she had hepatitis.
Ms. Judd is survived by her two daughters and her husband, Larry Strickland, who was a backup singer for Elvis Presley.
In a news release this month announcing the upcoming tour, Ms. Judd said she was looking forward to reconnecting with fans and singing with her daughter Wynonna.
Referring to Wynonna, Ms. Judd said: “She asked me if I was still going to twist, twirl and crack jokes. I answered, ‘Heck yeah! I’m too old to grow up now!’”
This obituary will be updated.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
