Naomi Judd - vocals; Wynona Judd - vocals, guitar; Lee Carroll - keyboards; Steve Sheehan - guitar; Troy Stallings - drums; Mark Thompson - guitar; Mike Webber - bass; Charlie Wetton - pedal steel, dobro
This show, originally a live broadcast on WCSM FM in Hampton, Virginia, was syndicated across the United States via the Silver Eagle Cross Country Radio series. The Judds were just on the edge of exploding as a commercial country sensation, and this recording comes after they had already scored a number of top Country hits on the Billboard charts, including "Girls Night Out," and "Mama, He's Crazy."
The mother-daughter duo, who defied all the odds and became country superstars, were still in their musical infancy, but it was clear at this point just how special their talent (especially as vocalists) already was. Opening with "One Way Rider," and sliding right into "Had A Dream (For The Heart)," both Naomi and Wynona provide a rock solid harmony that drives nearly every song in this show. Clearly a country act, however, The Judds were one of the earliest groups to overtly incorporate pop, rock, and many other musical influences into most of the songs they recorded. For this show, they do a crowd-pleasing re-make of Little Richard's 1956 rock 'n' roll classic, "Rip It Up," as well as a gospel rendition of "Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan?" which closes the performance.
The mother-daughter duo had been discovered by Nashville's top producer Brian Maher, whose daughter had been a patient of Naomi when she worked as a nurse in a Nashville hospital. Maher arranged for an audition with RCA Records, who signed them on the spot in 1983. Within a year, they were charting with hit songs. The Judds would go on to become the best selling country music act of the 1980s, and one of the most award-winning country music acts of all time. By the early '90s, the duo was forced to abandon their career as a recording and touring act, while mother Naomi battled hepatitis C.
Wynona Judd launched a solo career and continued finding the commercial and critical success she had experienced with her mother. Her hits, such as "No One In The World" had a decidedly more rock edge and enabled her to crossover to an even bigger adult pop audience than she had reached with the duo.
The Judds reunited in 2004 for a one-off reunion tour, which was both a critical and commercial success.