#345 Wynonna Judd - Dolly Parton, Naomi Judd's Death & Finding Her Biological Father

And so in 1983, how did you get the RCA deal?

[laughs]

It sounds like when things really, really turned around.

I, uh, think.

Uh, it's one of the most magical stories in country music history.

Or I should say her-story.

We went into RCA Records after hours and sang live in front of the powers that be, and got signed on the spot.

No kidding.

No kidding.

How did you get in there? Do you know?

Well, our manager, Ken Stilts, knew somebody, and that person knew somebody, and they just worked it out, I guess, and everybody got around a table, and Mom and I walked in.

And, um, of course she went to the bathroom first.

We walked in, sat down, sang, left, went to a nearby restaurant, and waited.

And our manager walked in and said, "Congratulations, you are now an RCA artist."

What song did you sing?

A song that Mom wrote called Change of Heart.

It's on some record somewhere.

And A Mother's Smile, that we ended up recording as well.

And I think there was a third and fourth one, but I don't remember.

Those are the only two I remember.

Yeah, but did you have any idea how big that was gonna be?

No.

I had no idea, Sean

Nothing?

I had no idea.