Brandi Carlile paid tribute to Naomi Judd, and sent a message of love to the late singer’s family, with a touching cover of The Judds‘ “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
Naomi Judd passed away on Saturday (April 30) at 76. Her daughters first announced her death with a statement that said they had “lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” “We are shattered,” Wynonna and Ashley Judd said, according to The Associated Press. “We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public.”
On Sunday, Carlile wrote on Instagram that she had been scheduled to sing to The Judds that night (May 1), for the duo’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Instead, Carlile ended up singing for the Judd family virtually, from her yard, as she is currently recovering from COVID-19 at home; she canceled her set at this weekend’s Stagecoach festival.
“Having a bittersweet Sunday afternoon at home with my daughters today and praying for @wynonnajudd and @ashley_judd,” the singer-songwriter said in a post about Judd’s death, which was accompanied by a video of her performing the beloved duo’s early ’90s single “Love Can Build a Bridge” with her own daughter singing along nearby. “We know they woke up to a world without their mom today. We want them to know that they’re so loved and that they’ve given a language to not just mothers and daughters everywhere but that every family can learn something about love from @thejuddsofficial.”
Carlile continued, “They were my first, second and third concert in my life and they’ve given me more than they could possibly understand.”
“Tonight they will be Inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame and I was supposed to sing them this song tonight,” she wrote. “Let’s send them every bit of love and gratitude that they deserve.”
Naomi and Wynonna Judd recently performed “Love Can Build a Bridge” — which was a top five hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart — together at the 2022 CMT Music Awards. They were accompanied by a gospel choir.
Watch Carlile’s emotional performance of the song below. See more tributes to Judd here.
