Wynonna Judd to receive ASCAP Golden Note Award at November 16 Nashville celebration

Thomas Crabtree / Courtesy of ASCAP

ASCAP will honor Wynonna Judd with its Golden Note Award at the ASCAP Nashville Songwriters Celebration on November 16, 2026, in Nashville. The performing-rights organization announced the recognition on November 6, 2026. Organizers will present the award during an invitation-only event that also recognizes the songwriters and publishers behind the past year’s most-performed ASCAP country and Christian songs.

The Golden Note Award recognizes career milestones achieved by songwriters, composers and recording artists. Judd will join previous recipients including Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack and Don Williams. ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams cited her distinctive voice and influence on other music creators in announcing the honor. The organization’s career award covers her work as a solo performer and as one half of The Judds.

Judd began her recording career alongside her mother, Naomi, in the duo that signed with RCA/Curb in 1983. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, The Judds earned 20 Top Ten country hits between 1984 and 1991, including 14 No. 1 singles. They also won five Grammy Awards and nine Country Music Association awards during that period. Their first chart-topping single, “Mama He’s Crazy,” preceded the album Why Not Me, whose title song, “Girls Night Out” and “Love Is Alive” extended their run of No. 1 hits.

Wynonna launched her solo career with her self-titled album in 1992, recording with producer Tony Brown for MCA/Curb. The album entered the country album chart at No. 1 and sold more than five million copies, according to the museum. Her first three solo singles, “She Is His Only Need,” “I Saw the Light” and “No One Else on Earth,” each reached No. 1 on the country charts. She followed that debut with the platinum-selling Tell Me Why. ASCAP cited songs from those early solo releases in its announcement of the November 16 honor.

Sources: ASCAP: Country Music Star Wynonna Judd to Be Honored with Prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award | ASCAP release via PR Newswire, November 6, 2026, 09:05 ET | MusicRow: Wynonna Judd To Be Honored With ASCAP Golden Note Award | Billboard: Wynonna Judd to Receive ASCAP Golden Note Award | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: The Judds
Image: Thomas Crabtree / Courtesy of ASCAP