Naomi Judd Interview (page: 3 / 5) Country Music Artist and Social Advocate	Print Interview

If you were speaking to a young person who wants to go into music or wants any career and looks at the competition out there and the odds, what would you tell that person to inspire them? What do you think are the most important characteristics they need to achieve something?

Naomi Judd: I'd say if a person who wanted to get into music was sitting right here with me right now, just the two of us alone in a room, I would say, "First, check your heart." And what I mean by that is really look in that mirror of truth at yourself and say, "Okay. Do I want to be rich and famous? Do I want to have the checks? Do I want to ride in limos and be on the cover of magazines, or do I feel that this is what I was born to do, this is me consciously cooperating with my destiny? Am I doing this because I get so psyched doing it that I can't not do it? Do I realize that this comes from God, that this is a talent, that this is a gift from the supreme ruler of the universe?" And if you're real clear and honest with yourself about why you want to do it, then you're going to be happy.
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Were there any books that you loved when you were a child, or any teachers that stand out in your mind?

Naomi Judd: I had the greatest childhood. It was really very much like The Waltons. Do you remember that show on TV? Because Mommy and Daddy were both at home. Mom was a homemaker, and I could walk to all the schools I ever went to. I could walk to the First Baptist Church. I could walk to our two little movie theaters. I had it made in the shade, and this gave me such a sense of stability, and my roots were very, very deep. And in the fourth grade, I had a remarkably kind woman named Mildred Rigsby who told me that I was special, and oh how I loved to hear that! She let me be Priscilla in Pilgrims' Progress in our school play, and we would put our heads down on our desk every night when class was over with at three o'clock, and sing a soothing little song called "Now the Day is Over," and she'd ask me to lead the singing, and that gave me a sense of belonging to something that was so much bigger than me.
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How about books?

Naomi Judd: I loved books. I just was a voracious reader. I read everything from Nancy Drew and Carolyn Keene mysteries when I was in grade school. Probably, one of my all time favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird. That's the kind of stuff I loved. And I found that with books, I could go places that my feet couldn't even take me, and when I read books, I found out that there were other people who thought the same way that I did, other people who felt the same as I did. It just opened up the world to me. I loved my small town, but it really just blew out the borders.
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