Country Music People January 2017 | Page 4

cmp JANUARY 2017 Volume 48 Number 1 Issue 563 News Walt Trott in Nashville Duncan Warwick in London Hope for Naomi Editor Duncan Warwick Contributors David Allan, Janet Aspley, Donnie Ayers, Craig Baguley, Larry Delaney, Don Cusic, Julie Flaskett, Kelly Gregory, Michael Hingston, Spencer Leigh, John Lomax III, , Douglas McPherson, Stephen O’Hanlon, Rob Patterson, Roland Purdy, Adrian Peel, Paul Riley, Wayne Smart, Chris Smith, Danielle Smith, Alison Stokes, Tom Travis, Walt Trott Special projects coordinator Kelly Gregory Photographers Helen Parish, Patricia Presley, Ian Tilbury, Barry Dixon, Billie McAleer Printed by The Magazine Printing Company Mollison Avenue Brimsdown Enfield Middx. EN3 7NT www.magprint.co.uk Distributor Seymour International Press Distributors Ltd. 2 East Poultry Avenue London EC1A 9PT Telephone [phone] Fax [phone] Country Music People is published the last Thursday of each month by KICKIN’ CUTS LIMITED P.O. Box 75 Attleborough NR17 1WL Telephone [phone] [email protected] www.cmpcountry.com ©2017 Kickin’ Cuts Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for statement of fact or opinion expressed by contributors. The views of the contributors are not necessarily those of Country Music People or its editor. 4 cmp - JANUARY 2017 Naomi Judd, half of country music’s dynamic mother-daughter duo The Judds (inset), has been recuperating from a struggle with mental illness, as bared in her new book about that experience, published Dec. 6 - “River of Time: My Descent Into Depression And How I Emerged With Hope” (Center Street Publishers). She and co-writer Marcia Wilkie feel bringing it out in the open may help others suffering from this severe malady. Of course, Naomi, now 70, and Wynonna, 52, scored 20 Top 10 duet singles - 14 of which went #1 from 1984-1991 and earned four Grammys. During a recent ABC-TV Good Morning, America chat (main pic) with co-host Robin Roberts, Naomi’s appearance was anything but normal, as her face was swollen, her eyes puffy and hands still shaky. Fans know following a breakup of her marriage to Michael Ciminella, Naomi worked to put herself through nursing school, while raising two young daughters. When Wynonna was in her teens, the two formed The Judds and were soon signed by RCA, where they hit with such songs as Mama, He’s Crazy, Why Not Me, Grandpa and Change of Heart (which Naomi wrote). The singer alluded to the fact that the duet team’s breakup was due in part to her chronic Hepatitis C, but also to an estrangement developing between her and Wynonna. Since that split, she has been battling depression and confides she even became suicidal, “I would come home and not leave the house for three weeks... it was really bad.” Last August, she and musician-husband of 27 years Larry Strickland were divorced, when she charged him with adultery. Naomi credits film actress-daughter Ashley with being a wall of support, especially since the finale of her reality TV series The Judds in 2011. According to Ashley, “In our family, my mother has a well-earned reputation for being thoughtful and caring. Even as a small girl, I’m told, she remembered every relative’s birthday when most kids know (and are concerned with!) only their own. This book is another iteration of her longing for connection and belonging. Our greatest need is to be known in our experience, to be witnessed and accepted as we are in this moment. “In ‘River of Time,’ she shares her journey through a harrowing tempest of treatmentresistant depression. Perhaps the details differ, but you may recognise yourself, or someone you love, in her battle. Depression is an epidemic in our country, a profound financial and emotional public health burden. The toll on us, the loved ones, must be addressed, too. As I watched Mom and Pop wade through the sucking mire of depression, I was deeply thankful that there was also help for us family members. May this book serve you in the way my brave mother hopes it may.”