The first time the Judds played Salt Lake City, they played to a crowd of five.
The mother-daughter duo had just signed a contract with Capitol Records and the company had them barnstorming around the West meeting country music disc jockeys, writers and promoters.They played a Hotel Utah suite serenade for about 25 minutes, struggling through "Had A Dream," which was to become their first hit.
Now, Naomi and Wynonna are returning as two crowned queens of country music. Their show at Symphony Hall on Jan. 27 - a triple bill featuring Steve Wariner and Skip Ewing - sold out before Christmas. So now another show has been slated for Thursday, Jan. 26.
Both are at 8 p.m.
For information call KSOP at 972-1043.
"I figured the Judds with Steve Wariner would be a gangbuster," says Henry Hilton of KSOP. "But I didn't think we'd sell out a month before the show."
The triple-header show will move to Cedar City on the 28th for a concert at the Centrum.
As for the Judds themselves, the duo has strung together an impressive set of hits: "Girls' Night Out," "Mama, He's Crazy," "Change of Heart," "Grandpa," "Rockin' With the Rhythm."
The rap against the mom/daughter team is they tend to be a bit slick and makecalculated career moves with their music.
On the other hand, young Wynonna Judd has one of the most powerful voices around today - a gritty, belting, bluesy voice - and with seasoning and a true sense of vocation, she could eventually work her way into the Hall of Fame.
She's already compared to Patsy Cline more often than may be good for her career at this point.
Getting second billing on the posters is Steve Wariner.
One of the nice things about Wariner is he doesn't just hold a guitar as a prop. He's one of the finest lead players in country music. With a dozen big songs under his belt ("You Can Dream of Me," "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers," "Some Fools Never Learn," "Linda") Wariner has gotten to the point he no longer needs to play the regional clubs (as he did at the Westerner in Salt Lake City last year), but he's not quite high-powered enough to fill a hall by himself. Opening for a top act, like the Judds, may eventually raise his stock and lift himinto the elite.
Young, boyish, with an honest Southern naturalness and charm, his stage shows are driving and energetic. Being a musician himself, he's put together a top-notch backup band that handles the Wariner sound with dexterity and precision.
Skip Ewing has been tagged onto the show somewhat, but over the past couple of months he's found some popularity that - in the opinion of KSOP's Hilton - makes him one of the reasons the second show was needed.
Like Wariner, his youth and charm make him one of the new wave country singers who are pitching old sounds to a fresh generation.
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