To appear at Paramount on Saturday

ASHLAND, Ky. — Cledus T. Judd, no relation to Ashland’s famous Judd family, will be headlining the Paramount Arts Center on Saturday.
Judd is one of music’s most successful parodists. He began performing 28 years ago and he has enjoyed the heck out of it.

“It’s been a fun ride, that’s for sure,” he said. “The ups and the downs.”

He released his first album, “Cledus T. Judd (No Relation)” in 1995 and toured with many country artists. His first big hit was in 2000 with

“My Cellmate Thinks I’m Sexy,” a parody of Kenny Chesney’s song “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” which references the time that Chesney and Tim McGraw were arrested for stealing a Canadian Mounty’s horse.

“That seems like an eternity ago,” Judd said with a laugh. “There were several videos out before that. The first one was “If Shania Was Mine.” That’s the one that kicked it all off. I followed that up, 38 or 40 videos since then. It’s been quite a run, that’s for sure.”

He has parodied a lot of country artists, from Brooks and Dunn to Morgan Wallen.

His biggest hit was a parody of “I Love This Bar” called “I love NASCAR.”

He’s released 11 albums and two EPs and has total record sales of about 2 million records.

Besides touring, Judd has also worked at radio stations, was a co-host of CMT Most Wanted Live and was on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club.

As for the highlight of his career, Judd said there were too many to mention.

“There is no way out of 30-year career that I could tell you what the highlight was because everything I got to do, I never thought I would get to do,” he said. “So it is all been a highlight. I’ve been blessed to have a long run. I took some time off to just be a full-time dad to my daughter, Caitlyn, when she was younger.”

He moved to the Tri-State to be closer to his daughter and he worked as a DJ at WTCR from 2012–2020. Judd announced his retirement from playing music in 2015, but began to tour again after his musical idol Ray Stevens asked him to be the opening act for his Kentucky show in 2018.

“My kids said ‘It’s time for you to go back to work’ and so I went back out there and it’s been great ever since,” Judd said. “I’m just glad to be hanging on. It’s a great thing. I’m just glad to make people laugh, make them think, make them cry and make them feel something. That’s what my show is about. It’s not just songs and one liners. It is the story of how I started, how I got here.”

One of the lesser-known things about Judd is that he loves to give back to the community.

In 2020, he spoke, not at Judd, but as James Barry Poole, his real name, at the Nexus Recovery Docket drug court graduation event in Ironton about being sober since 2004 after this daughter was born.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘You’re a sorry SOB if you snort another line of cocaine after being given the greatest gift ever given,” Poole said at the event. “I asked God to take away my addiction and asked for forgiveness.”

His helping others continues.

Part of the proceeds from the Paramount show tickets sales will go to help flood victims in Kentucky.

“We are giving tickets away to some first responders and people that were affected by the flood,” Judd said. “It’s a way to give them a couple hour long break.”

He said he’s lived all over the country and he really loves the Tri-State community and this is just a way to give back to it.

“It’s been by far one of the best experiences to move here and live here,” he said. “I hope that I’ve been able to return the favor by some of the things I’ve done for the community.”

Doors for Judd’s show open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Tickets on sale at ParamountArtsCenter.com, by phone at 606-3240007, or in person at 1300 Winchester Ave., Ashland, Kentucky.

For more information, visit www.ParamountArtsCenter.com.