Through the Years: See the Judds’ Career in Pictures
Naomi and Wynonna Judd entertained fans for years as the Judds before going on hiatus in the early 1990s. And while Wynonna went on to have a successful solo career, it was together that the mother and daughter would leave the most lasting mark.
The gallery of photos below celebrates important milestones in the career of the Judds.
Wynonna and Naomi started playing together in 1976, with Wynonna serving as more of a guitar player and background vocalist. The pair moved to Nashville three years later to pursue their dreams of country music stardom, releasing their first EP, Wynonna and Naomi, in 1983. They scored with "Mama He's Crazy," the duo's first hit to top the charts at No. 1. The Judds released their first full studio album in 1985, and more hits and awards followed, with the duo eventually reaching No. 1 14 times.
Together, the Judds released six studio albums before Naomi Judd walked away at the height of their success, stunning the industry when she revealed she had contracted Hepatitis C, forcing her to retire. But that did not mark the end of the line for the Judds, who reunited for the Power to Change Tour in 2000, and again in 2010 for what they said would be their final tour, the Last Encore Tour.
Naomi and Wynonna Judd gave their final public performance as the Judds on April 11, 2022, performing "Love Can Build a Bridge" at the 2022 CMT Music Awards. Wynonna and Ashley Judd stunned fans on April 30, 2022, when they announced that Naomi Judd had died at the age of 76.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness," they said in a statement. "We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory."
The Judds were slated to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (May 1). The duo had announced their Final Tour in early April; they were set to hit the road on Sept. 30 in Grand Rapids and wrap a month later in Nashville.
Scroll through the pictures below to relive the legendary career of the Judds.