Reunited...for Now

Before starting their current reunion tour in February, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, the biggest-selling duo in the history of country music, were all hugs and kisses in high-profile media interviews.

That’s nice.

But they’re now halfway through their first tour in nine years, and you wonder if the old mother-daughter tensions--once legendary in Nashville--have resurfaced.

The group’s former manager, Ken Stilts, once said young Wynonna “just revolted at every turn,” and mother Naomi was hard-headed. “There were plenty nights when I was not sure the show was going to happen because they seemed to really lock up 30 minutes before a show. . . . I sent them on stage more than once with sunglasses from crying.”

So what gives?

As it turned out, there were no sunglasses in sight as the Judds stepped on stage hand in hand to thunderous applause from an estimated 12,000 fans last weekend here at the Rose Garden arena.

For two hours, they celebrated their music and memories with a dozen favorite Judds tunes and a series of home movies, most of which included footage of the other famous Judd--Wynonna’s sister, actress Ashley Judd.

It was a warm, endearing performance, and the word from crew members is that the same spirit continues offstage on the 20-city jaunt, which includes a stop tonight at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim.

But there’s one lingering issue that remains delicate--and it has been haunting both women since the tour began, though they haven’t formally spoken about it.

The future.

Isn’t there a time when the celebration of doing shows together again will give way to the melancholy of realizing that these may be the last ones?

Sitting in her customized bus before the concert, Naomi, 54, was asked if there isn’t a point where she’ll begin counting off the dates . . . five more shows to go, four more shows, three. . . .

“Eleven . . .” she interrupts. “There are 11 more shows. I’ve already begun counting them down.”

Naomi is reluctant to say more because she doesn’t want to put pressure on Wynonna, who has worked hard to establish her solo identity in the nine years since a potentially life-threatening illness--chronic active hepatitis--forced Naomi to step away from the music business.

“The only time we came close to talking about [the future] was the second night of the tour,” Naomi continues carefully. “We were in our hotel bathrooms and I said, ‘OK, kiddo, tell Mama what’s on your mind.’

“I could see that something was troubling her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it because of her loyalty, so I had to say what I knew she was thinking. I said, ‘You are afraid you are going to get lost in this, aren’t you?’ And the tears started rolling down her cheeks.”

It was out of respect for Wynonna’s career that Naomi refrained from bringing up a reunion tour after she was pronounced cured of the illness two years ago. The impetus for these shows, she felt, had to come from her daughter.

New Year’s Eve Response Prompts a Brief Tour

But she admits she was thrilled in the summer of 1998, when Wynonna proposed a reunion show. The idea was to just do a millennium New Year’s Eve date, but there was so much fan response that the women decided to do this brief tour, which ends March 31 in Atlanta. The only other commitment is for a June 10 concert in Nashville. Wynonna’s next solo tour includes a stop May 18 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.

Even if Naomi prefers not to speak about future shows, it’s clear that she would be open to it. Naomi once called the stage “my home, my church and my workplace.” She has expanded her career into other areas since the Judds’ 1991 farewell tour, including a best-selling autobiography and a weekly talk/music radio show. But nothing seems to match the thrill of being on stage.

So she leaves the decision about the future to Wynonna.

And what is the daughter’s thinking?

“I’m very aware that there is an end and we’re approaching it,” says Wynonna, 35, sitting in her bus during a separate interview. “It’s a very bittersweet experience, and I spend a lot of time on my bus with my flowers and my candles and my music because I want to savor every moment of this trip. I don’t know where it’s going to lead. . . .

“But I do know the shows have been remarkable because the roles have changed. I realized that at the New Year’s Eve show. When I took Mom’s hand at the start of the show, she was trembling. I remembered all the times when I needed her hand and she was the strong one. I leaned over and said, ‘I’m here. Let me do the singing. You have the fun and enjoy. Don’t worry about a thing.’ ”

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Wynonna was always the voice of the Judds, a great singer whose feel for music is wide enough for her to excel in gospel, rock and blues. Although everyone in Nashville thought she couldn’t miss on her own, Wynonna went through a severe bout of insecurity when it was time to leave the nest.

She may have sung lead on the hits, but Naomi took care of everything else. Naomi was the hostess on stage and she made the decisions offstage. If young Wynonna often rebelled against those decisions, she realized by the end of the duo’s reign that she had been shielded from a lot of pressures she would face on her own.

Despite the fears, Wynonna was an immediate hit on her own. Her first solo album, 1992’s “Wynonna,” entered the country charts at No. 1, eventually selling 5 million copies. That’s more than any Judds album ever sold. But Wynonna’s subsequent albums didn’t maintain the momentum in an era of pop-crossover blockbusters by Garth Brooks and Shania Twain.

Even though her next two solo albums each sold more than 1 million copies, Wynonna tended to play 4,000- to 6,000-seat venues rather than the 10,000- to 15,000-seat arenas that the Judds are playing on this tour.

The danger in splitting her time between her career and the Judds is that fans will respond to her more, on record and on stage, as a Judd than as a solo artist. At the same time, some artists--notably the Eagles’ Don Henley--have shown that you can maintain a fan base both as a member of a famous group and as a solo artist.

First Single Stalled on the Country Chart

The issue of split identity was dramatized for Wynonna recently when “Can’t Nobody Love You (Like I Do),” the first single from her new solo album, “New Day Dawning,” stalled at No. 31 on the country charts.

The original plan was to release another solo track from the album, but it turned out radio programmers are more excited about a track she recorded with her mother and included on the album as a bonus. After consulting with her record label, she is considering releasing the Judds track, “Stuck in Love,” as the next single.

“At that moment, I really had to deal with my ego,” she says quietly. “I realized I had to release my agenda and go along with [what the programmers wanted]--and that was very frustrating because I worked nine months on [the solo material] on this album, and suddenly it was being put on hold.”

Despite the frustration, however, it’s clear that she too would enjoy doing at least occasional Judds projects.

“I’ll be 36 in May and I’ve been doing this for 18 years,” Wynonna says. “I think I realize now more than ever what Mom has done for me and for our family, and I feel so good about being on stage with her, watching her. On the [1991 farewell tour], there were so many worries. . . . I was worried about my mom’s illness and I was worried about the future. But now, I’m just having a blast . . . and I know what it means to her.

“On the night of the Grammys, Mom called and said she knew I was disappointed about the next single, and I told her that we are family and will always be family. Now whether that means we do some kind of reunion [project] every year or whether we do another tour five years from now, I don’t know. But the door is always open.”

But music’s not the only joy in Wynonna’s life. In fact, she points to her two children, 5-year-old Elijah and 3-year-old Grace, as the factors that probably contributed most to her increased sense of confidence and well-being. And the irony isn’t lost on Wynonna that she, like her mother during the early days of the Judds, is a single mom working to raise two children.

Wynonna’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1999. She is now involved in what she calls a “blossoming relationship” with D.R. Roach, who has been her bodyguard for eight years.

“I heard the rumors that Wynonna was real stubborn, real tough,” says Kerry Hansen, who handled marketing for Wynonna since the mid-’90s. “But knowing her the way I do now, I understand exactly why she was that way. She was trying to protect herself. She has become so secure, so confident. She has grown up.”

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The difference between this Judds show and the old Judds shows was immediately apparent at the Rose Garden. In the past, Naomi’s personality dominated, despite Wynonna’s stronger voice. Naomi seemed the irreplaceable one. Now it’s Wynonna’s show. She spends as much time talking to the audience as her mom does, and she sings several songs from her solo albums. Yet Naomi still brings an effervescence and sense of fun to the stage.

Some of the remarks the pair make while watching the home movies feel a bit too scripted, and Wynonna’s solo material is sometimes too plain. But as a singer, she’s a wonder who can move effortlessly from the blues declaration of “Can’t Nobody Love You (Like I Do)” to the rock energy of “Tell Me Why” to the chilling gospel testimony of “How Great Thou Art.”

Judds Are More Than Simply Musical Stars

Wynonna’s vocal talents are so strong that there’s no way she’s going to lose her identity in an occasional Judds pairing. If anything, this tour has made her a more appealing and mature artist by giving her performance a greater sense of clear purpose and tradition.

Backed by an eight-piece band, three singers and five dancers, the Judds draw the most response, understandably, when they come together on the old hits, from the wistful “River of Time” to the uplifting “Why Not Me.”

Through it all, one feels an affection from the audience that goes much deeper than the usual celebrity enthusiasm. The chemistry between the pair is genuine and inspiring.

Over the last two decades, the Judds have become more than simply musical stars. In story and in song, this mother-and-daughter team--with public and private dramas--has bonded with its fans in a way that few acts do in the pop arena.

You can see why no one would want to walk away from that connection.

BE THERE

The Judds, with Jo Dee Messina, tonight at 7:30 at the Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. $20.75 to $75. (714) 704-2500.

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” . . . I spend a lot of time on my bus with my flowers and my candles and my music because I want to savor every moment of this trip. I don’t know where it’s going to lead.” WYNONNA JUDD