Judds’ reunion a celebration of health

Monday, Dec. 7, 1998 | 11:15 a.m.

Seven years to the day that the Judds said farewell to their fans as a mother-daughter country music duo, the chart-topping superstars of the '80s announced they will perform once again for one night only.

The announcement came Friday night on the stage of Caesars Palace, where Wynonna was performing during National Finals Rodeo.

The Judds' New Year's Eve reunion performance, Dec. 31, 1999, will be a celebration of Naomi's health and a welcome to the new millenium, the two said at a press conference at Caesars Palace Sunday -- not as a career booster for Wynonna, who admitted that professionally she may "take some flak from critics."

Wynonna has become a superstar in her own right as a solo act since the duo broke up.

"As a daughter I want to celebrate my mother and her healing, regardless of my career," Wynonna said. "In my heart of hearts, I know this is the right thing to do."

The Judds, who rose to stardom in the '80s, selling more that 20 million records, winning five Grammies, nine Country Music Awards and eight Billboard Music Awards, called it quits in 1991 after Naomi Judd had been diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1990. Their 1991 farewell tour grossed over $21 million. Their final concert together was Dec. 4, 1991.

Since then, Wynonna's solo career led to sales of 9 million records and 14 Top Ten hits, and Naomi became a spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation and a best-selling author.

Naomi, now in remission, said the decision to perform together again was made mutually while the two were walking on a beach in Clearwater, Fla., discussing Naomi's health, the new millenium and how the two had become more individual over the past seven years.

"We sort of knew at the same moment," she said.

Prior to that, the duo said the only time they sang together was in church or for Wynonna's two children.

"It's so weird. We've never discussed a reunion," Wynonna said, adding that following the break-up of the Judds, it had been painful to sing with her mother.

Other than the scheduling of the New Year's Eve performance at the America West Arena in Phoenix, the future is pretty much unclear for The Judds. They haven't decided whether they will perform any new songs for the concert, nor do they know if they will continue to perform together.

When asked if the show will be for pay-per-view, they stressed that the show isn't about money so much as it is about hope.

"This concert is about God's grace. Yes, we'll make money but I'm not driven by that," Wynonna said. "When God gives you grace, you say thank you."

"The millenium is so timely for the metamorphosis I'm going through," Naomi Judd added. "This is the age where all of us can reinvent ourselves."

The Judds said they chose Phoenix as the location for their reunion concert, because of the warm weather and sunshine and because it is the hub of the Southwest.

Tickets go on sale Jan. 16 at all Dillards Ticket Outlets and the America West Arena Box Office. Ticket prices will range from $99 to $299.