The Judds › Why Not Me

The Judds: Naomi Judd, Wynonna Judd (vocals).

Additional personnel: Don Potter (acoustic & electric guitars); Mark Casstevens (guitar, harmonica); Sonny Garrish (steel guitar, dobro);

Bobby Ogdin, Gene Sisk (piano); Jack Williams (bass); Eddie Bayers (drums).

Recorded at Creative Workshop, Nashville, Tennessee.

After a pair of hit singles (including the #1 country smash "Mama He's Crazy"), the Judds released their full-length debut in early 1984 and quickly became one of the biggest acts in country music. WHY NOT ME is an impressive debut for the mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynnona Judd. Unlike many country albums of the era, it doesn't sound particularly dated in retrospect, because the Judds stay relatively true to traditionalist country precepts. The sound is small-combo honky-tonk with occasional traces of rockabilly (the hopping "My Baby's Gone") and Patsy Cline-style epic heartbreak ("Bye Bye Baby Blues"), with liberal doses of no-nonsense attitude in the Loretta Lynn/Tammy Wynette tradition. With four major country hits, WHY NOT ME plays like a greatest hits album the first time out, and it remains one of the Judds' definitive statements.

Genre:

• Country & Bluegrass

Music Categories:

• Country: Contemporary