Wynonna Judd
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Wynonna Judd |
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Wynonna (born May 30, 1964 in Ashland, Kentucky[1]) is an American country music singer. Born Christina Claire Ciminella, she was renamed Wynonna Ellen Judd Roach,[2] a name adapted from the line "Don't forget Winona" in the pop song "Route 66".[3] Most commonly, however, she is credited by the singular name Wynonna (/waɪˈnoʊnə/).
Wynonna made her musical debut in the 1980s, alongside her mother Naomi in the country duo The Judds. Between 1983 and 1991, The Judds charted twenty-three hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including fourteen Number Ones; they also recorded eight studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations.
After a bout of hepatitis forced Naomi to retire, Wynonna embarked on a solo career. Her self-titled solo debut album was released in 1991. It produced three straight Number One singles and was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States for sales of five million copies. Since then, Wynonna has recorded eight more studio albums, all on Curb Records. These albums have produced more than twenty-five hits on the country charts, including four Number Ones and seven additional Top Ten hits.
Biography
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Personal life
Wynonna was born in Ashland, Kentucky with the name Christina Claire Ciminella. She was given the last name Ciminella after her sister Ashley's father Michael. Her biological father was Charles Jordan, who died in 2000.
Her immediate family consists of her mother, Naomi Judd, half-sister Ashley Judd, son Elijah Judd (born December 23, 1994), daughter Grace Pauline (born June 21, 1996[1].
Wynonna created a storm of controversy among conservative Christians when she announced her pregnancy with first-born Elijah, as she was not married at the time. She spoke openly about her feelings about the institution of marriage, stating that she did not feel the need to be married to have a child. Judd married her lover Arch Kelley III shortly after she delivered the baby. She and Kelley later had a second child, but divorced in 1998.[citation needed]
Wynonna's second husband was her former bodyguard, D. R. Roach, whom she married on November 22, 2003. She filed for divorce from Roach on March 27, 2007 after his arrest for sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
The Judds
Before launching her solo career, Wynonna sang with her mother as part of one of the most successful and celebrated country music duos. Together, they were known as The Judds. Wynonna is an active and vocal member of the Recording Artists' Coalition, an American music industry organization that represents recording artists, and attempts to defend their rights and interests. Some of her achievements include 20 number-one singles, multiple gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums, multiple Grammy awards and a performance at Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994.
Solo career
In November 2003, Wynonna appeared on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show discussing what she described as a "severe" dependency on food. She had been working with the show in an effort to lose a significant amount of weight and get to the root of her dependency. In September 2005 Wynonna made a second appearance on the show, discussing how she had lost some weight (but had yet to reach her goal weight); had patched up broken relationships with her mother, and with the man she considered "her dad", Michael Ciminella, from whom she had been estranged for almost a decade. Both Naomi and Michael visited Wynonna at the Shades of Hope rehab center in Buffalo Gap, Texas during a family visit, where Wynonna, 42, was being treated for food addiction. In September 2005, in an interview for The Insider, Wynonna also talked about being sexually assaulted by an acquaintance when she was younger.
Wynonna published her memoir, Coming Home to Myself, in September 2005. It became a New York Times Bestseller.
She co-hosted the fourth season of the USA Network series Nashville Star with Cowboy Troy.
On October 10, 2006 Wynonna released her first Christmas album, A Classic Christmas, as a solo artist. The single that was released, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, peaked at number three on the AC charts.
In April, 2007 Wynonna was back in the studio with longtime producers Brent Maher and Don Potter to record a follow up to 2003's "What The World Needs Now Is Love".
Other accomplishments
Although she is associated with the country genre, she has also ventured into other music genres by allowing her cover version of "I Want To Know What Love Is" to be released as a dance track, where it peaked at number 12 on Billboard Radio Monitor's Hot Dance Airplay chart in 2005.
Discography
References
- Millard, Bob. (1998). "Wynonna Judd". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 272.
- Millard, Bob. (1998). "The Judds". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 272-3.
Notes
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Wynonna Judd biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ "Fast Facts". Wynonna official website. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ "Q & A". Wynonna official website. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
External links
