As a young girl growing up in the 1980s in a small-town in Tennessee, country music was a large part of my life. I was constantly humming or singing some sad country song, often one by mother-daughter duo sensation, The Judds. I can still recall how excited I’d get when their song “Grandpa (Tell me ‘bout the good ole days)” would come on the radio and it kind of brings a tear to my eyes now. Anyway, today is Ms. Naomi’s birthday and I couldn’t pass it up without dedicating a post to her.
From a rural part of Kentucky, Naomi has always been a picture of southern charm and grace. After achieving great success in the music industry, her story took a sad turn when she contracted Hepatitis C while working as a registered nurse. She hasn’t let that stop her though, fighting for research and education about the disease and spreading awareness via her website.
image Evans Caglage/Dallas Morning News
For her imaginary party, I’m serving homemade buttermilk pie. Wouldn’t we all love to spend an afternoon with her and hear some stories? I’m sure she has a few to tell. Country music (& Nashville) are definitely on the map now, more than ever…viewed as chic & edgy. I think that all the new country stars have quite a bit of gratitude to pay to people like Naomi Judd…who really worked hard to pave the way to legitimize country music…even when it wasn’t viewed by the rest of the world as “cool.”
Happy Birthday Naomi Judd! Hope you feel celebrated all day long!
