Country Artist Wynonna Judd: A Portrait of Passion and Perseverance

Buzz Knight:

I am Buzz Knight, the host of the Takin’ A Walk podcast – Music History on Foot. We invite you to follow us at Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcast. And kindly leave us a review and tell us how we’re doing. That’d be much appreciated. On this bonus Friday episode, one of the most iconic figures in the country music world, certainly of our time, she is out with the 2023, Judds: The Final Tour, in celebration of the life and legacy of Naomi Judd. When you have someone who’s so cool and powerful that you can only refer to her as one word, Wynonna, you know who I’m talking about. I’m taking a walk. Hello, Wynonna

Wynonna:

Good morning.

Buzz Knight:

It is so tremendous to talk to you to talk about the 2023, the Judds, the final tour and celebration of the life and legacy of Naomi Judd. It’s an honor to speak with you. First of all, people always want to know how you’re doing. So how are you balancing the need to be staying busy and active with giving yourself some time?

Wynonna:

Well, I’m not doing a great job with that because balance is not a word that I grew up knowing very well. But I will tell you this, whatever I do, I do it with my full heart. I’ve got my grandbaby today, so I’m changing diapers and feeding, and tomorrow, I will start to get ready for the tour, which takes full time. Literally, I feel like it’s a wedding and a family reunion, and I’m ready to rock. And yet I do take time for myself and I go walking in the wilderness or I take naps and I do like everybody else. I try to do everything with the best of my ability and it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

Buzz Knight:

Well, you’re an inspiration for your transparency on your feelings, and I think that connects certainly with your fans and your community. So the Judds: The Final Tour has this amazing array of folks that are part of it. By the way, folks can go to the judds.com to check out all the dates, the dates stretch all over the place from Hershey, Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, Connecticut to Worcester, mass, Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis. I feel like we’re riding the train together, Wynonna

Wynonna:

We are.

Buzz Knight:

So let’s talk about this, I would say incredible group that will accompany you. You want to start with Ashley McBride.

Wynonna:

The next generation of Greatness, yes. Actually, she is a fireplug. She is like, “I’m going to tell you something, you got to watch out for that girl because she will absolutely come on stage and slay.” And I’m left standing there looking at her like, “How in the world did you take over like that?” He is a force to be reckoned with for sure.

Buzz Knight:

You’ve got Ashley, you’ve certainly got Martina McBride, another force of nature. They’re all forces of nature here. Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerina, the folks from Little Big Town, this person we might have heard of called Tanya Tucker. .all forces of nature behind a force of nature in you.

Wynonna:

Wow. That’s interestingly put. We come from different places sometimes, but we’re very similar. One of the things I love about this tour is the diversity. Every night is different. Each artist brings something unique and I have been very overwhelmed by the people coming to help me. They called me and they said, “What can we do to support Winona?” And it’s not just a show, my dear. This is about fellowship and communication to the fans, and it runs deep. It runs really deep. Tanya and I have known each other since I was a teenager, and so this is a woman I’ve known my whole adult life pretty much.

Buzz Knight:

What makes Nashville this community like this that is so loving and giving and just so welcoming to insiders and outsiders?

Wynonna:

It’s interesting you asked that question. I think it’s because it’s such a small community. Music row is not a big place, and I think it’s one of those deals where if you see someone and you upset them or do something to them, you’re going to see them again. This is not like the pop world where you can see somebody one day and then not see them again for a long time. Nashville is very transparent. And when we show up to the Ryman, for instance, and you’re not on time, people notice. And so I was taught in the ’80s when I started in 1984, you’re not late to work with Tammy Wynette or Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard. You are to be respectful and not interrupt. And I was taught … My mother was very strict with me and she taught me, she said, “You’re going to see the same people on the way up as you see them on the way down.”

Buzz Knight:

The spirit of your mom appears to be with you at your shows. Can you talk about that feeling when you’re on stage and I sense you’re sort of looking up and communicating with your mom at that time?

Wynonna:

I am. We had a very complicated relationship and one of the things that worked beautifully without even having to try almost was singing together. When we got on stage, something beautiful happened and regardless of what took place during the daytime, she was very strict. And like I said, she was quite the perfectionist and she raised me to do things as perfectly as possible.

Back in the day, we didn’t have the opportunity to use technology to take vocals and move them around and cut-and-paste like we can today. And we had to work hard to get the vocals and there was a lot of back and forth between the two of us because we disagreed on just about everything. But yet when we hit that stage, something remarkable happened and the harmonies were literal and figuratively the most important thing that bonded us together. So when I’m on stage every night, there’s a moment during Love Can Build A Bridge where I turn around and she’s standing right there and I feel her. I with every note. And I think people can tell that because I talk about it a lot.

Buzz Knight:

So in light of the way the last few years of this COVID thing have interrupted our lives and certainly musicians’ lives, can you describe the joy that it brings to someone like you to be out there on stage connecting with your fans?

Wynonna:

It’s one of the holiest moments that I may get emotional. No matter what’s going on in my life, I’m able to step out into the light literally, and I stand there barefoot and I do that because it grounds me and it allows me to play the guitar better. And when I’m standing there and I look out at 14,000 people and they’re singing back to me as loud as I sing, Love Can Build A Bridge, it overwhelms me to the point where I’ve had to sit down on stage because it knocks me out. It’s one of the most beautiful and intensely spiritual moments of my life, and it’s happening right now more so than ever before because of the death of my mother. There is a sense of memorial, but there’s also a sense of life after death and it’s one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

Love is something that it flows in that auditorium, and it just makes me absolutely think there really is a God because it suspends me somewhere between here and heaven. And it’s remarkable. It’s one of the most beautiful moments of my day.

Buzz Knight:

You are an inspiration. We are all on your side. The 2023 the Judds: The Final Tour in celebration of the Life and legacy of Naomi Judd, thank you for being on, taking a walk.

Wynonna:

You are so welcome, my dear, and I appreciate you letting me tell my story.

Speaker 3:

Taking a Walk with Buzz Knight is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Buzz Knight is an established media executive with a long history of content creation and multi-platform distribution.

After a successful career as a Radio Executive, he formed Buzz Knight Media which focuses on strategic guidance and the development of new original content.