How The Judds Changed My Life

Looking back on when I fell in love with The Judds.

Sometimes music is more than just entertainment. Sometimes music has the power to change our lives or steer our course. The Judds did that for me.

As a very young child, I was part of an extremely dysfunctional family. Without going into details, it was needless to say that “love” in the common sense of the word was not something I witnessed in a real life setting. One day, when I was around 8 going on 9, my aunt came to visit my family for a little while. In the midst of the hurt and chaos that always surrounded our home, my aunt managed to give me the greatest gift I could possibly ever receive. She sang to me.

She sang songs by Kathy Mattea that were lonesome and heartbreaking. Songs by Melissa Etheridge that were challenging and defiant. Songs by Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Reba McEntire, and even a little Debbie Gibson I think. But for years down the road, the only songs that stood out in my memory from that visit were songs of hope, friendship, romance, family, and life. Those songs would shape my dreams for my future. They would be the soundtrack that I built my life with my children around, and I would use as the bar to measure my relationships by. Those songs that my aunt placed in my head were songs about love in all its different forms. And they were all from The Judds.

Thank you Aunt Trish, Naomi, and Wynonna… you changed my life.