Naomi Judd will forever be a country music legend.
She tragically passed away on Saturday at 76 years old outside of Nashville due to “the disease of mental illness,” just a day before her formal induction into the the Country Music Hall of Fame.
At the request of her family, the Medallion Ceremony went on as planned on Sunday, and her daughters, Wynona and Ashley, were there to accept and speak on her behalf.
They both took the mic to express their love, sadness and gratitude to be apart of her receiving such an honor, with Wynona adding what a strange moment it was to reach a massive milestone for a career she’s built for decades with her late mother in the wake of her tragic passing:
“I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew mom would probably talk the most. I’m gonna make this fast because my heart’s broken, and I feel so blessed and it’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.
Though my heart is broken I will continue to sing.”
And CMT just announced that they plan to run a special program called CMT Remembers: Naomi Judd tomorrow night at 9p/8c on CMT.
It will feature:
“Archival footage and interviews intertwined with memorable performances and moments from the past several decades of her career.
The 30-minute television special will recount Judd’s colorful past as a trailblazer for women in country music and the duo’s path to becoming one of the most successful in country music history.”
The special tribute will also include footage from her final interview at the CMT Awards last month, as well as coverage of The Judds’ emotional induction ceremony from Sunday night.
Four encore presentations of the show are scheduled for Wednesday, May 4th at 8:30a/7:30c (CMT) and 8p/7c (CMT Music), Saturday, May 7th at 12p/11c (CMT) and Sunday, May 8th at 11a/10c (CMT Music).
You can watch Wynona and her half-sister Ashley’s emotional speech here:
The Judd’s final performance was of “Love Can Build A Bridge” on the CMT Awards just a few weeks ago, and will also be featured in the documentary:
