SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A family can both make and break you a little, bringing many blessings and many trials. A noted Judd sure knows that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL DOWNHILL FROM ASHLAND")
WYNONNA JUDD: (Singing) If we'd have known the beginning was the end. We should have known. We would have known the truth is it was all downhill from Ashland.
SIMON: Wynonna Judd reflects on her roots and relationships in a deeply personal new album called "The Hard Truth." And she joins us now, on tour, from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks so much for being with us.
JUDD: It is my absolute pleasure.
SIMON: You've written nine of the 10 songs on this album. We just heard a bit of "All Downhill From Ashland." What moved you to put this album together?
JUDD: Well, the death of my mother really brought to light all of the things that you go through when you lose your mother. All the trials and triumphs came to mind, and I just started to write things down.
SIMON: Wow. I'm going to play a bit more from this song, if we could, "All Downhill From Ashland," which is where, you know, your family began.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL DOWNHILL FROM ASHLAND")
JUDD: (Singing) Well, times were simple when we would sing. It felt like prayer, and now it feels like pain. Forgiveness comes in heavy ways. I love you. I need you. I hate you some days.
I have to say, right off the bat, several things. One, I'm not a victim. I'm a victor with this album. It's my soul record. And there are some things that I really, really am sad about. I just absolutely went crazy after she died, trying to figure out what I could have done differently. And I realize now that I couldn't save her. I just absolutely went into a dark hole and felt helpless.
SIMON: We, of course, have to advise our listeners that we're going to spend a few minutes talking about suicide, and if they feel they need help or know someone who does, they can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
JUDD: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Please reach out and choose life, like I did. I myself have been down that road, and I just want to sing to people and help them heal. And so if any of these songs can help that, I've done my part.
SIMON: Yeah. You know, you and your mother sang - Naomi - sang together six studio albums, I don't know how many Top 10 country hits, five Grammys.
JUDD: (Laughter).
SIMON: I interviewed you and your mother once, and my God, I loved you. I still do. And...
JUDD: Aw.
SIMON: ...And thought you were uniquely happy. Did I miss something?
JUDD: We were uniquely happy when we were on stage, for sure, because singing "Grandpa," "Love Can Build A Bridge," "Girls Night Out," that was our joy time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GRANDPA")
THE JUDDS: (Singing) Did families really bow their heads to pray? Did daddies really never go away? Whoa, whoa, Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days.
JUDD: We had a great relationship. It was just very layered and very complicated, and anybody out there knows this. And to share a bus with her for 10 years was quite the adventure. And we had good times and bad times. She was so fragile, but yet, she was so sparkly.
SIMON: One of the most charming people I've ever met in my life, I've got to tell you.
JUDD: She reminds me of Dolly. They both have that sparkle and that shine. And my mother always wanted to be in the limelight. She was born to be a star.
SIMON: Yeah. Your mother undertook to leave this life just a couple of days before you were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Is it hard for a public figure to get help?
JUDD: It is. They say that celebrities get the worst care because it's really hard to say no. And I'm certain that there were times when they gave her the wrong medication, so I have a lot of feelings about that.
SIMON: And look, I got to continue with a tough line of questioning, but they're in the songs.
JUDD: Yes.
SIMON: You were 30 before you discovered who your biological father was, right?
JUDD: Yes. I was pregnant with my first son. And I didn't know about my real daddy. Everybody else knew. Even the town knew, but I didn't. So I was 30 years old. I walked into a therapy session with Ashley and mom.
SIMON: This is NPR. We got to explain - Ashley Judd, your younger sister.
JUDD: Yes. My sister, yes. And mom was crying, and she couldn't utter the words. And so Ashley stepped in and said, your real father is - and told me the name. And I just - my world fell apart.
SIMON: Wow. I want to hear a little bit more of one of your songs, "Girl Who Could Sing."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIRL WHO COULD SING")
JUDD: (Singing) Did you ever buy a ticket? Did you come to a show? It will play in my mind for a lifetime to never really know.
He died on the couch. And when they found him, he had a drawer full of clippings, and it made me realize he knew about me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIRL WHO COULD SING")
JUDD: (Singing) Who I was to you is still a mystery to me. Was I ever really your daughter or just a girl who could sing? A girl who could sing.
SIMON: And how do you feel now that you're a parent?
JUDD: Oh, it's changed my life. I'm also raising my 4-year-old granddaughter, so she brings light into my world every second of every day.
SIMON: Yeah. I got to ask you about what's behind this song - let's hear a little of it - "The Hopeful Lie."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE HOPEFUL LIE")
JUDD: (Singing) I would drag you out of hell if I could, but I don't have the power. I can't save you, but I try. I don't want to, but I still believe in a hopeful lie.
It's about addiction. I've got a daughter who's addicted to meth, and for anybody out there who's got a child struggling with addiction, it's a song about the hopeful lie. I would drag you out of hell if I could, but I don't have the power. And letting go and knowing when is the hardest thing, to say no to your child.
SIMON: Oh, boy. How difficult is that to say no to your child?
JUDD: It's impossible. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life because she's my girl.
SIMON: Yeah.
JUDD: And I'm stuck waiting. And every night when I go on stage, I say a prayer that I can get through the show because every day is just - there are moments that it's hell on earth, and it's been a long road. And so these songs, again, have helped me to heal through all the darkness.
SIMON: How wrenching was this album sometimes?
JUDD: I had to get up and walk outside and look up at the sky. 'Cause there were definitely moments when I thought, what the hell am I doing putting all this out on Front Street? But I think there comes a time when you're really wanting to be heard and known for your truth. And that's where I'm at right now. I'll be 63 in May, so I keep feeling these feelings, and I'm so grateful that the fans are letting me tell my story. I feel so loved and so supported.
SIMON: Yeah. Look, there's happiness on this album too. You and Cactus Moser, the producer, musician, have been married - do I get this right? - for 14 years and worked closely on this record?
JUDD: Yes. I've loved him since I was 26. I met him when he and his band, Highway 101, opened for mom and me on tour, and I've loved him ever since. And I had to wait almost 40 years, but we've been married now for almost 15 years.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE AIN'T GOT THE BEST OF ME")
JUDD: (Singing) Love has chewed me up. Love has spit me out. It saved my life. I want more. I can't turn it down. And if freedom...
It has chewed me up and spit me out, but I can't get enough. That's (laughter) - it's biblical - and the greatest of these is love out of everything. That's what moves mountains. And I'm just so grateful that I have the love in my life that I do, 'cause it propels me from hell to hallelujah.
SIMON: Wynonna Judd - her latest album, "The Hard Truth." Boy, it's been good to talk to you. Thank you so much.
JUDD: Oh, I really appreciated the time. Thank you, and I hope that anyone listening out there can know that you're loved, as well.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE AIN'T GOT THE BEST OF ME")
JUDD: (Singing) And if freedom means I got nothing left to lose, then I guess I got... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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