1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: I'm Buds Night, the host of the Taking a Walk podcast, 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: pulling back the curtain on our large collection of archives. 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: To go back to January of twenty twenty three, when 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: we release this episode with the always transparent, passionate and 5 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: talented Whyah. Here's our classic replay of Taking a Walk 6 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: with Winona Judd. 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 2: Hello, Wyona, good morning. It is so tremendous to talk 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 2: to you, to talk about the Judds, the final tour 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 2: and celebration of the life and legacy of Naomi jud 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 2: It's an honor to speak with you. First of all, 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 2: people always want to know how you're doing. So how 12 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 2: are you balancing the need to be staying busy and 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 2: active with the giving yourself some time. 14 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 3: Well, I'm not doing a great job with that because 15 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 3: balance is not a word that I grew up knowing 16 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 3: very well. But I will tell you this, whatever I do, 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 3: I do it with my full heart. I've got my 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 3: grand baby today, so I'm changing diapers and feeding, and 19 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 3: tomorrow I will start to get ready for the tour, 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 3: which takes full time. That's literally like I feel like 21 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 3: it's a wedding and a family reunion and I'm ready 22 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 3: to rock and yet I do take time for myself 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 3: and I go walking in the wilderness, or I take 24 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 3: naps and I do Like everybody else, I try to 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 3: do everything with the best of my ability, and it's 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 3: it's not easy, but it's worth it. 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 2: Well, you're an inspiration for your transparency on your feelings 28 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 2: and I think that connects certainly with with your fans 29 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 2: and your community. So the Judge the Final Tour has 30 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 2: this amazing array of folks that are part of it. 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: By the way, folks can go to the judgs dot 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 2: com to check out all the dates. The dates stretch 33 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 2: all over the place, from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Bridgeport, Connecticut, 34 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 2: to Woostermass Tulsa, Kansas City, Saint Louis. I feel like 35 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 2: we're riding the train together one on it. 36 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 3: We are. 37 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 2: We are, So let's talk about this. I would say, 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 2: incredible group that will accompany you. You want to start 39 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: with Ashley McBride. 40 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 3: The next generation of greatness. Yes, actually he is a fireplug. 41 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 3: She is Like, I'm gonna tell you something. You got 42 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 3: to watch out for that girl because she will absolutely 43 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 3: come on stage and play. And I'm left standing there 44 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 3: looking at her like, how in the world did you 45 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 3: take over like that. She is a force to be 46 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 3: reckoned with. 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 2: For sure, you've got Ashley, You've certainly got Martina McBride, 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 2: another force of nature. They're all the forces of nature here, Brandy, Carlisle, 49 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 2: Kelsey Ballerina, the folks from Little Big Town. This person 50 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 2: we might have heard of called Kenya Tucker, all forces 51 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 2: of nature behind a force of nature in you. 52 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 3: Wow, that's interestingly put. You know, we come from different 53 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 3: places sometimes, but we're very similar. One of the things 54 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 3: I love about this tour is the diversity. Every night 55 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:32,359 Speaker 3: is different, Each artist brings something unique. And I have 56 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 3: been very, very overwhelmed by the people coming to help me. 57 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 3: You know, they called me and they said, what can 58 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 3: we do to support Winona? And it's not just a show, 59 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 3: my dear. This is about fellowship and communication to the fans, 60 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 3: and it runs deep. It runs really deep. Kenya and 61 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 3: I have known each other since I was a teenager, 62 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 3: and so this is a woman I've known my whole 63 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 3: adult life pretty much. 64 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 2: What makes Nashville this community like this that is so 65 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 2: loving and giving and you know, just so welcoming to 66 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 2: insiders and outsiders. 67 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting you ask that question. I think 68 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 3: it's because it's such a small community. You know, music 69 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 3: row is not a big place. And I think it's 70 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 3: one of those deals where if you see someone and 71 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 3: you upset them or do something to them, you're going 72 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 3: to see them again. This is not like the pop 73 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 3: world where you can see somebody one day and then 74 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 3: not see them again for a long time. Nashville is very, 75 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 3: very transparent, and when we show up to the rhyman, 76 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 3: for instance, and you're not on time, people notice. And 77 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 3: so I was taught in the eighties. When I started 78 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty four, you know, you're not late to 79 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 3: work with Tammy Wynette or Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard. 80 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 3: You are to be respectful and not interrupt. And I 81 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 3: was taught. My mother was very strict with me, and 82 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 3: she taught me. She said, you're going to see the 83 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 3: same people on the way up as you see them 84 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 3: on the way down. 85 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 2: You know, the spirit of your mom appears to be 86 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 2: with you at your shows. Can you talk about that 87 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 2: feeling when you're on stage and I sent you're sort 88 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 2: of you're sort of looking up and communicating with your 89 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 2: mom at that time, I am. 90 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 3: We had a very complicated relationship, and one of the 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 3: things that worked beautifully without even having to try, almost 92 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 3: was singing together. When we got on stage, something beautiful happened, 93 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 3: and regardless of what took place during the daytime, she 94 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,359 Speaker 3: was very strict and like I said, she was quite 95 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 3: a perfectionist, and she raised me to do things as 96 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 3: perfectly as possible. You know, back in the day, we 97 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 3: didn't have the opportunity to use technology to take vocals 98 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 3: and move them around and cut and paste like we 99 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 3: can today, and we had to work hard to get 100 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 3: the vocals right. And there was a lot of back 101 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 3: and forth between the two of us because we disagreed 102 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 3: on just about everything. But yet when we hit that stage, 103 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 3: something remarkable happened, and the harmonies were literal and figuratively 104 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 3: the most important thing that bonded us together. So when 105 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 3: I'm on stage every night, there's a moment during love 106 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 3: can build a bridge where I turn around and she's 107 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,840 Speaker 3: standing right there and I feel her. I feel her 108 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 3: with every note, and I think people can tell that 109 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 3: because I talk about it a lot. 110 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 2: So in light of the way the last few years 111 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 2: of this COVID thing have interrupted our lives and certainly musicians' lives. 112 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 2: Can you describe the joy that it brings to someone 113 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 2: like you to be out there on stage connecting with 114 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 2: your things. 115 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 3: It's one of the holiest moments that I make it emotional, 116 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 3: you know, no matter what's going on in my life, 117 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 3: I'm able to step out into the light literally and 118 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 3: I stand there barefoot, and I do that because it 119 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 3: grounds me and it allows me to play the guitar better. 120 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 3: And when I'm standing there and I look out at 121 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 3: fourteen thousand people and they're singing back to me as 122 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 3: loud as I sing, love can build a bridge. It 123 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 3: overwhelms me to the point where I've had to sit 124 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 3: down on stage because it knocks me out. It's just 125 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 3: it's one of the most beautiful and intensely spiritual moments 126 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 3: of my life. And it's happening right now more so 127 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,559 Speaker 3: than ever before because of the death of my mother. 128 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 3: There is a sense of memorial but there's also a 129 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 3: sense of life after death, and it's one of the 130 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 3: most powerful forces in the universe. Love is something that 131 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 3: just it flows auditorium and it just makes me absolutely 132 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 3: think there really is a God because it suspends me 133 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 3: somewhere between here and heavens and it's remarkable. It's one 134 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 3: of the most beautiful moments of my day. 135 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 2: You are an inspiration. We are all on your side. 136 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 2: The Judge is the final tour and celebration of the 137 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,679 Speaker 2: life and legacy of Naomi Judge. Thank you for being 138 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 2: on Taking a Walk. 139 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 3: You are so welcome, my dear, and I appreciate you 140 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 3: letting me tell my story. Thanks for listening to this 141 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 3: episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. 142 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 2: Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow 143 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 2: us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk 144 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 2: is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever 145 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 2: you get your podcasts.