The Judds Do The Puyallup One Final Time Sunday Afternoon

The Puyallup Fair ends Sunday, and so does the Northwest performing history of the greatest duo in country music, the Judds.

The glamorous mother-daughter act plays its last Northwest show Sunday afternoon at the fair. The Judds' very last show of all is set for Dec. 4 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., just outside Nashville. It will be broadcast live on Viewer's Choice, the pay-per-view cable channel.

The two are splitting up because mother Naomi suffers from chronic active hepatitis, and doctors have advised her to get more rest. On tour, she spends most of the day in bed, preserving her strength for the stage. As she proved at the duo's first farewell show here at the Tacoma Dome in May, her illness doesn't show in concert - she's as lively and sassy as ever and sings beautiful harmonies.

But she leaves most of the lead singing to her daughter, not only because of the illness, but also because Wynonna will launch a solo career immediately after the current tour ends. Wynonna's debut solo album for MCA Records is already finished, boxed up and ready to go to stores early next year.

Despite the melancholy nature of the tour, the Judds projected a strong, positive image at the Tacoma Dome show, and, to their credit, kept references to Naomi's illness and its consequences to a minimum. Their harmonies were beautiful, they sang all their hits (many of them written by Naomi), and both were full of the dickens, with much joking and bantering between them and the crowd.

The final song - their last big hit, "Love Can Build a Bridge" - was a dramatic moment, but they didn't milk it. To the end, they showed a lot of class.

The Judds' sometimes combative relationship, fashionable good looks and the personal drama of Naomi's illness have provided supermarket tabloids with fodder over the years, and country comics with material for jokes. From the beginning, the two were intriguing, from their looks - Naomi, a former model, now 45, was often described as looking younger and more beautiful than her daughter, 27 - to their pure, warm harmonies.

The two - whose real names are Diana and Christina; they adopted more country-sounding names for their career - had sung together since Christina/Wynonna was a child. They sent a homemade tape to RCA Records in Nashville and, after a producer heard it, were singed to a long-term contract.

Their first single, "Had a Dream (From the Heart)," hit the country-music charts in late 1983. Their second, "Why Not Me," an upbeat, uplifting ditty, went from the country to the pop charts in early 1984, and established the Judds as among country music's top stars. Their many other hits over the years include "Mama He's Crazy," "Rockin' With the Rhythm" and "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)," all of which are included in the show.

The Judds aren't the only thing happening at the Puyallup this weekend. Roger Whittaker, the African-born, British-based singer with the sturdy voice, patrician manner and repertoire of original songs - including the 11-million single, "The Last Farewell" - plays at 7 tonight.

Gerardo, the Spanglish rapper who scored big this year with the Latin hip hop hits "Rico Suave" and "We Want the Funk," plays tomorrow at 2 and 7 p.m., with dance-music star Tara Kemp opening.

Born in Ecuador, Gerardo Mejia III moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was 12. When he was old enough to get into nightclubs (with fake ID), he established a reputation as a dancer. Ice-T used him in his early club shows, and he appeared on "Solid Gold" and "Dance Fever." He also worked in movies, appearing in the biker flick "Winners Take All," the romantic "Can't Buy Me Love" and the gang epic "Colors."

But Gerardo found fame in music with the clever, funny "Rico Suave," helped greatly by the video, which has lots of shots of him gyrating, in various stages of undress, with sexy women. A remake of "We Want the Funk," with another sexy clip, kept his career going. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with in 1992.