Naomi Judd Take a Stroll Down Memory Lane with Release of New Hits Package

The mother-daughter duo signed with RCA Records in 1983 and became one of the most successful acts in country music history, winning nine CMA Awards, seven ACMs, five Grammys and numerous other accolades.

Naomi Judd Take a Stroll Down Memory Lane with Release of New Hits Package
The Judds; Photo courtesy Webster Public Relations

There’s something about releasing a greatest hits collection that always prompts artists to feel a little nostalgic, and Naomi Judd is no exception. The Judds—All Time Greatest Hits is available now and Naomi took time to share some of her favorite memories with Sounds Like Nashville.

“It feels like my child,” she says of the collection. “First you have the birth, then you have the first tooth, the first time they walk, you have the proms and all that and the wedding. This is really one of those powerful milestones for me to see it all pulled together because there are such rich stories behind every single song. That’s the way Wynonna and I are. We just throw all of our guts, hearts and brains into everything that we do and now they are all pulled together. It’s like a photo album of the greatest moments in your whole life.”

The mother-daughter duo signed with RCA Records in 1983 and became one of the most successful acts in country music history, winning nine CMA Awards, seven ACMs, five Grammys and numerous other accolades. The Judds—All Time Greatest Hits celebrates the songs that defined their storied career. The 21-song set features such classics as “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not Me,” “Love is Alive,” “Girls Night Out,” Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ole Days),” “Have Mercy” and “Love Can Build a Bridge.”

Though it’s difficult to single out a favorite, Naomi says there’s definitely one that holds a special place in her heart. “‘Love Can Build A Bridge’ is the most universal song,” she says. “They sing it in high school choirs. It gets sung in church because it’s that overwhelming emotion that reminds us that we’re all in this together. We may not have it together, but together we can have it all.”

The Judds; Cover art courtesy Webster PR

The Judds; Cover art courtesy Webster PR

She has fond memories of writing the song while out on the road. “We were playing in Medford, Oregon,” she recalls. “I would get out every afternoon with my little dog Banjo, put my hair in a ponytail and wear a ball cap just so I could soak up the culture wherever we were. In Medford, I saw a homeless guy sleeping on a park bench. He had a sore on his foot and it was starting to get cold. It just devastated me. I thought, ‘What’s going to happen to him? This is somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, probably father.’ After that concert, I got in my bunk and was able to write this song. It really speaks, in the first verse, to the fact that we all need shelter: ‘I’d gladly walk across the desert with no shoes upon my feet to share with you the last bite of bread I had to eat. I would swim out to save you in your sea of broken dreams. When all your hopes are sinkin,’ let me show you what love means.’

“It literally came out fast for me,” she continues. “I’d never written a song that effortlessly. When I won the Grammy for songwriter of the year, in my speech one of the first things I said was, ‘I didn’t write this. This was inspired. This came to me from the God of all the different universes and dimensions that we can’t even fathom.’ To me, that’s one of the most intricate songs I’ve ever written.”

Naomi was a single mother, working as a nurse and struggling to raise her two daughters when the Judds signed a record deal that catapulted them to almost overnight success. What was the biggest change in her life at that time? “Money,” she admits frankly. “I say that because I’d been broke and poor my whole life. My daddy was a blue collar. We had food, a lot of pinto beans and corn bread, but we had food. I had three dresses to go to school. I remember on my birthday I got a bicycle, but it was a used bicycle. We made it and we had love. I felt okay and secure enough, but then when I had Wy and Ashley and got divorced, I was a paycheck away from the street. We ate a lot of peanut butter. One time the Sheriff showed up at my door because I was behind in my rent and we were going to be on the street.”

Naomi still remembers how she splurged when the money started rolling in. “The first thing I did was I bought my mom a microwave. That was huge,” she says with a smile. “And I remember I bought a set of Clairol hot rollers and I got garbage pickup service.”

With the release of the new hits collection, Naomi says she’s reminded of the enduring nature of the music she and Wynonna created. “You made me think about what they say,” she laughs. “If they ever drop the atom bomb, there are three things that are going to survive— Cher, roaches, and the Judd’s music!”