Thanks to Country Music USA, an estimated 100 million people outside of the United States had the opportunity every week to hear country music legends as well as new stars talk about themselves and their music. The program regularly showcased both contemporary and traditional country music songs and artists. From 1984 to 2001 when she retired, more than 100 country music artists interviewed with Judy, including: Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Buck Owens, Ricky Van Shelton, Chet Atkins, Clint Black, Bela Fleck, John Michael Montgomery, Junior Brown and Mary Chapin Carpenter. She gave them the chance to discuss their careers, perform their music and talk in person with listeners from many countries. She also made the point to include a wide variety of musical elements in her programs. She gave affectionate attention to songwriters and musicians as well as unique areas of country music such as bluegrass, cajun and zydeco, cowboy music and Texas swing. As a result, Judy and her program steadily increased the profile of country music around the world.

Judy expresses her own feelings about country music this way: "I love country music. It has a special place in my heart. What I love about country is its honesty and ability to communicate feelings without getting gussied up. It's from one person's heart to another's." She says it is a style of music that suits her attitude about work.

She points out that "Country music has more of the universality of folk music. It appeals to people all around the world. And I think a three-minute song can say more about a nation and what its people are about than any other medium."

The show was a weekly, one-hour program that had been on the air for many years. The show changed its name from Country Hits USA to Country Music USA in early May 1999. Judy took the seat as host in 1984 and also became the producer and writer for the show. She also presented a number of live concerts. For example, she included three of Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jams, Farm Aid concerts and The Grand Ole Opry's 60th Birthday Celebration. In addition to the live shows, she also taped live performances and played them for her audience at a later date whenever possible. She did this, she said, because "I like to get away from commercial recordings whenever possible. Live, I think, listeners get a sense of the excitement the star creates that is missing on record; and they get a sense of what one of their favorite singers is like. Many listeners in foreign countries never get to see performances by American artists. By broadcasting a concert, we have found the listeners really respond to the feeling of being at a show. I've received letters that say the people stand up and applaud in their homes after a song."