Cledus T. Judd

James Barry Poole

(1964-12-18) December 18, 1964

Cartersville, Georgia, United States

Vocals

  • 1995–2015
  • 2018–present

Julie Reeves

Radio and television work[edit]

Judd has toured as an emcee with such acts as Brooks and Dunn, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, and Montgomery Gentry. Judd's television work includes a stint as the co-host of CMT Most Wanted Live from 2002 to 2004 and as a "special correspondent" on the 2005 season of Nashville Star. Additionally, he was one of the featured contestants on Season Five of VH1's reality show Celebrity Fit Club.


He also hosted the Cledus T. Party Morning Show for WQYK-FM in Tampa, Florida. In January 2008, he returned to Atlanta as the morning host at 94.9/The Bull, WUBL-FM. In September 2010, he returned to WQYK-FM as co-host of the Cledus and Dave Morning Show. On November 19, 2012, Judd became the co-host of The Cletus T. Judd Party with Clint & Judy morning show on iHeartMedia-owned WTCR-FM in Huntington, West Virginia. At WTCR, Judd joins longtime morning hosts Clint McElroy & Judy Eaton.[11] Judd stated that moving to WTCR allows him to live closer to his daughter.

Musical style[edit]

Judd has been called the "Weird" Al Yankovic of country music.[12] Judd's albums typically contain a mix of parody songs and original songs. His parodies are often topical in nature, such as "My Cellmate Thinks I'm Sexy", a parody of Kenny Chesney's "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" which addressed Chesney's and Tim McGraw's 2000 arrest after stealing a Mounted Reserve deputy's horse;[13] or "Waitin' on Obama", which he released shortly before President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.


Initially, Judd sang in an intentionally off-key, nasal voice with an affected Southern accent, described by Country Standard Time critic Ken Burke as "Junior Samples on helium."[14] Judd stopped affecting his voice on A Six Pack of Judd and all subsequent albums.

Personal life[edit]

Judd was formerly married to country music singer Julie Reeves. They have a daughter, Caitlyn. Judd married Amanda Fizer on October 5, 2017[15][16] and has two stepchildren, Isabella and Jeremiah.[17]


After announcing his retirement in 2015, Judd focused on spending time with his family and doing a morning radio show. Once he was done with his radio show in the mornings, he had a lot of downtime and became bored. He then began working on buying and remodeling dilapidated houses.[18]


After years of retirement, Judd was inspired to return to music by his idol, Ray Stevens, who asked Judd to open for him at a show in Kentucky. Stevens asked Judd why he retired and Judd responded that he did not think he was relevant anymore. Stevens told him that the 1,500 audience members giving Judd a standing ovation said otherwise. With the encouragement of his daughter, Judd decided to make a comeback.[18][17]