Entertainment

Naomi Judd will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame one day after her death

The Country Music Hall of Fame was “shocked and saddened” by Judd’s death, CEO Kyle Young said in a statement on Twitter. Judd’s family, however, requested that the induction of the mother-daughter duo The Judds continue as planned, he said.

“We will do it with heavy hearts,” Young wrote.

Judd died at the age of 76, her daughters announced Saturday, hours before the country music legend – one half of The Judds, along with her daughter Wynonna – was to be celebrated at the Nashville Museum’s Medallion ceremony.

It is unclear how the ceremony can be changed or adjusted in the wake of Judd’s passing. A separate tweet on the Hall of Fame’s page announced the pre-ceremony “Red Carpet Experience”, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, had been canceled in light of Judah’s death.

In their messages shared on Twitter, Judd’s daughters Wynonna and Ashley, an actress, wrote that they “lost our beautiful mother to the disease mental illness.”

“We navigate in deep grief and know that when we loved her, she was loved by her public,” her daughters’ statement added. “We are in unknown territory.”

Naomi Judd told during a 2016 appearance on “Good Morning America” that she had been diagnosed with major depression and anxiety. That same year, she wrote a book entitled “River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope,” which explains her struggles.

In their announcement of elected members in 2021, the Hall of Fame credited Naomi and Wynonna Judd for helping “take the country back to its roots in the 1980s with lean, melodic songs influenced by traditional folk music, acoustic blues and family harmony.”

The mother-daughter duo began performing together as a professional number in the early 1980s, soon producing a number of major hits such as “Mama He’s Crazy” and “Love Can Build a Bridge”, selling more than 20 million records . Between 1984 and 1991, The Judds won five Grammys and had 14 No. 1 singles under the Hall of Fame.

While Wynonna sang the lead role, “Naomi provided harmony, wit and a quirky stage presence that engaged the audience,” the Hall of Fame said.

The announcement was updated after the news of Judd’s death, noting: “The museum, Judd’s family and fans and the entertainment industry are mourning her sudden passing.”

The Judds performed publicly together for the first time in years at the CMT Music Awards early last month, singing “Love Can Build a Bridge.” Judd’s death also came shortly after the announcement of The Judds’ 10-date “Final Tour”, which was scheduled to begin in September.

CNN’s Andy Rose and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.