I had to go to all the way to New York City to find my country people. One night a Judds song came on, I forget which one, and one of my new friends began singing along. There, I cultivated a new circle of friends, many of them also from Michigan. My first (and only) sighting of them is forever etched in my mind.Īre gas prices going up again? Yes and here’s why I’m not sure what it was, but for me and for most people, the chemistry between Naomi and Wynonna and the feelings they stirred inside the listener were almost tangible. Then, his mother calls to him: “Jeff, get in the car! It’s time to go.” Soon, though, a gentle strumming and Wynonna’s throaty voice carry to him: “I would whisper love so loudly, every heart could understand that love and only love can join the tribes of man.” Naomi, the mother of the duo and the de facto emcee, says something, but even amplified, her words float away in the hot August night. From this distance, illuminated by a spotlight, they are a blur of sparkling sequins and red hair. They step into view briefly, gliding on high heels to the edge of the grandstand stage. He is angling for a distant, and free, glimpse of Naomi and Wynonna Judd.

(AP) -Somewhere in Michigan in the early 1990s, a teenage farm boy clings to a chain-link fence at the edge of the county fairgrounds.