Friday, May 10, 2002 | 2:34 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION: May 12, 2002
Both in her career and in her personal life, Wynonna Judd has been through the ringer.
Judd, 37, was thrust into the limelight nearly 20 years ago with her mom, Naomi, as one-half of The Judds.
The mother-daughter singing duo lit up the country charts quickly with the top single "Mama He's Crazy," and went on to post 14 more No. 1 hits until Naomi Judd retired in 1991 after contracting hepatitis C.
With attention focused on the daughter, wondering if she could have a career without her mother, Wynonna Judd delivered. Her 1992 debut solo album, "Wynonna," sold five million copies -- the highest-selling debut album by a female artist at the time -- and produced three top-10 songs: "She is His Only Need," "No One Else on Earth" and "I Saw the Light."
Her subsequent solo albums have also produced several hit singles on their way to multiplatinum status.
And in 2000, after her Naomi Judd declared herself healthy, The Judds hit the road for a successful four-month reunion tour. Wynonna Judd then returned to solo status with her 2001 album, "New Day Dawning." She performs Thursday through May 18, at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater.
The Sun recently spoke to Wynonna Judd, who called from her home/farm in Franklin, Tenn., about her career, her rebel image and her relationship with her mom and actress-sister Ashley Judd.
Sun: Veteran country acts have taken a real hit over the years in terms of sales. Are you concerned with your commercial success?
WJ: I don't pay attention to numbers anymore. I'm 38-to-be, that's the only number I'm thinking about right now, what am I going to do when I turn 38? I don't listen to the radio and all those countdowns, I don't listen to statistics. I got caught up in all that when I was in my 20s. I thought I had to be number one, I thought I had to sell a million records to be worthy. And now I realize I'm a child of God and I don't have to prove anything to anybody.
You know how the business is today? We're based on singles, we're not based on careers anymore. Nobody watches a star really come up; it's overnight it seems. And sometimes you think, "Whatever" to growing up in this business and watching stars be made. One-hit wonders, where are they today? A year ago they were happening, this year where are they? But I, by the grace of God and the fans, have stayed.
Sun: Having firmly established your solo career, was recording and touring as The Judds again difficult?
WJ: Yes, but it had nothing to do with career, it had to do with personal. Because when you're mother and daughter, everything stems from the personal. It was hard. I had to eat humble pie every day and check my ego and challenge my character. It would be like going back and living with your parents again, that's how I felt.
The Bible says obey your parents, period. But I had to stand up for myself. There were times when I had to step in and say, "You know, Mom? Though I appreciate that, that really doesn't work for me."
It was very hard. So I found a way to do it creatively. I found a way to be really proactive instead of just reacting to everything she said, because I think the family dynamic is when the parent says something the kid wants to do the opposite.
So she would say, "I think we should sing this on 'Jay Leno.' " And I'd go, "Hhmmm, let me think about that a minute. Is that a good idea?" And then I'd say, "Well, you know what? That's a good idea, but what do you think about this?" I had to learn how to work it in a way that wasn't offensive. That was very challenging to me.
Sun: How did your mother respond?
WJ: I think Mother respects me musically very much. I think she knows that my choices stem from my gut. Personally? She's constantly telling me what to do and I just have to walk away and breath really deep. I learned how to do a lot of breathing exercises because she drove me absolutely nuts. (But) it worked. Everything we brought to the table, it worked. We're two very different people. Sometimes I wonder, "I really came from you?" And other times I realize, I can't live without her and don't want to.
Sun: Would you tour with her again?
WJ: That's like asking somebody the day after their divorce is final if they're gonna date again. I'm not kidding. You have to have time to grieve and mourn and then you move on and live again. We spent a year (touring together) ... It's like your wedding day, your reception and your honeymoon all in the same day, every single day for a year. It almost killed me. So, do I want to that again? I don't know, I'd have to really think about it and take a lot of vitamins.
Sun: Still, it sounds as though you and your family have worked through a lot. Is it safe to say you are no longer dysfunctional?
WJ: Honey, we're still dysfunctional. What is it my mom says that always makes me chuckle -- "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." When I say dysfunctional, she was a single parent raising two very high-spirited women. And now that I'm a single parent raising two kids, I think I realize, what is normal? In my life, I remember when we used to watch "The Waltons" and now we're watching "The Osbournes."
The Bible says, "Be in the world but not of it." And what I mean by that is we're all dysfunctional in our way, but I'm very proactive these days, I work very hard at being part of the solution; what can I do to change for the good?
Sun: You've always had the image of a rebel, but you have a very serious spiritual side.
WJ: I'm going through a real phase right now where a lot of people don't know who Wynonna is. My mother always did the talking. When we did the reunion tour last year, I had to interrupt sometimes to get my point across because she has always been the leader. I've been the kid and she's been the mom. I'm very shy and people don't realize that and I get very misunderstood. A lot of years I was very quiet because I didn't have anything to say. I wanted to sing, I wanted to be a musician, that's what I do.
Put me in front of a camera and I'm like a deer in headlights. For years I got sort of labeled as this tough kid, but I was fighting for my life. Imagine being 18 and winning the lottery, and all of sudden you're stuck out in front of everybody and you've got to live your life like you know what you're doing. And that was a real challenge for me and Mom was real prepared for it.
Sun: Was this a gradual change?
WJ: Gradual. I think all things happen for the good, even through Mom's illness. And no one will ever know how broken my heart was. There were days when I would sob and not be able to leave my room. It was like a jail sentence, or purgatory, or hell on Earth -- whatever you want to call it. I felt like I was in a world where I couldn't get out. I always say it was the longest year of my life, that farewell tour.
And no one ever asked me how I felt or how I was. Everyone was always focused on Mom because she was the sick one. And I understand that, by the way. But I've had to do years and years of real soul-searching and a lot of Christian therapy about what that did to me. And I survived it and then I had my kids and almost died giving birth to Grace. It just makes you aware of what's important. And I named her Grace because God's grace is sufficient and I received it that day I gave birth -- June 1, 1996, I was given another chance.
Sun: Have you, your mom and your sister ever considered doing an "Osbournes"-type show, "The Judds"?
WJ: I'll tell you right now, it wouldn't be that exciting. Now, if you want to film a conversation around the supper table? Good luck ... we are a treat, no doubt. I've always said when the three of us get together we could suck the oxygen out of a room in under a minute. We are very passionate. It's interesting with all three of the dynamics together, it makes for a very entertaining time.
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