Keith Urban Honors Naomi Judd With Powerful ‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ Cover [Watch]
Keith Urban honored the Judds on Tuesday (May 3) with his acoustic cover of their 1990 inspirational hit, “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
Urban performed a stripped-down, somber version of the unifying tune to a packed room in Manchester, England, during his ongoing The Speed of Now World Tour.
“I want to send a quick and very heartfelt acknowledgment out to the late great, very influential Naomi Judd. What the Judds did was astounding through the ‘80s, and she was the queen and the matriarch of it all. And she wrote this song, which is pretty amazing,” Urban shared before offering his rendition of the enduring ballad.
“Love can build a bridge / Between your heart and mine / Love can build a bridge / Don't you think it's time? / Don't you think it's time?” the country superstar rendered with poignance before the visibly moved crowd joined and sang it back to him.
Judd wrote “Love Can Build a Bridge” alongside Paul Overstreet and John Barlow Davis. It served as the second single and title track of the Judds’ sixth and final studio album in 1990. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
“Naomi Judd sowed so many important seeds in her precious time here,” Urban added in a social media post after the show. “Here’s one of the many. On the other side of the world in Manchester tonight they were all singing ‘Love Can Build a Bridge.’ Thank you Naomi. We love you.”
News of Judd's death shocked the country music community on Saturday (April 30), one day before the Judds’ highly anticipated Country Music Hall of Fame induction. The mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd had just performed “Love Can Build a Bridge” at the 2022 CMT Music Awards in April. It was their first awards show performance in two decades.
In a joint statement, her daughters Ashley and Wynonna Judd shared that their mom succumbed to the “disease of mental illness.” Both sisters were present at the ceremonial induction on Sunday (May 1).
There, Ashley tearfully told the crowd, “I’m sorry she couldn’t hold on until today,” before an equally grief-stricken Wynonna gave her acceptance speech. "It's a strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed ... But though my heart is broken, I will continue to sing," she said.
A Grammy-winning duo, the Judds released six studio albums in their career and notched 14 No. 1 singles, including “Why Not Me,” “Mama He’s Crazy” and “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).”
Stars React to Naomi Judd's Death: