Grand Ole Opry Stars Ernie Ashworth and Hank Locklin Have Passed Away

[Zoneboy]

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Grand Ole Opry member Ernie Ashworth, whose 1963 smash hit "Talk Back Trembling Lips" was one of the first country tunes to cross over into pop, has died, hospital officials said on Tuesday.

Ashworth, 80, died on Monday (March 2) at Trousdale Medical Center in Hartsville, Tennessee. Hospital officials did not give the cause of death but the singer-songwriter had recently undergone heart bypass surgery.

A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Ashworth listened to the Opry on radio broadcasts and joined a band named the Tunetwisters. He later fulfilled a dream by joining the Opry in 1964.

Ashworth wrote songs in the 1950s for the Acuff-Rose publishing house that were recorded by country singers including Little Jimmy Dickens, Carl Smith and Johnny Horton, and wrote "I Wish," which was recorded by pop crooner Paul Anka.

Ashworth signed on with the MGM label in 1955, but his songs failed to catch on and he returned to Alabama to work in an Army missile plant.

He took his reedy tenor to Decca Records in 1960 and scored with the hits "Each Moment" and "You Can't Pick a Rose in December." Moving over to Hickory Records in 1962, he recorded "Everybody But Me" and a year later scored his only No. 1 hit, "Talk Back Trembling Lips."

The song spent 36 weeks on the country music charts and crossed over to the pop charts -- making it one of the first crossover successes.

Ashworth continued to write and record songs, perform, and appear on the Opry. He bought a pair of Tennessee radio stations and his traditional style found favor among European country fans. He lived in semi-retirement on his farm in Lewisburg, near Nashville.

[Zoneboy]

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Grand Ole Opry star Hank Locklin died Sunday (March 8) at his home in Brewton, Ala., at age 91. He is best known for writing and recording the 1958 Top 10 hit, "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On." He had been an Opry member since 1960. The family plans a private funeral and burial service.

Born Lawrence Hankins Locklin in McLellan, Fla., he began playing guitar as a child and was just a teenager when he began performing on radio station WCOA in Pensacola, Fla. A leg injury exempted him from military service during World War II, and he began writing songs and performing in bands around Mobile, Ala. Following the war, he was appearing on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport and on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas.

He enjoyed his first chart success during a five-year stint on 4 Star Records. His first charted single, "The Same Sweet Girl," reached the Top 10 in 1949, and his first No. 1 single came on 4 Star in 1953 with "Let Me Be the One." It spent three weeks at the top of the country chart.

Later signing to RCA Records, Locklin recorded two Top 10 hits before releasing, "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On," which peaked at No. 5. In 1960, he spent 14 weeks at No. 1 with "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," a song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair. Locklin continued recording hits through the '60s and remained on the RCA roster through the mid '70s.

"Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" became a country music standard and was recorded by numerous artists, including Dwight Yoakam, Dolly Parton, Dean Martin and others.

Locklin is also credited with being a pioneer in recording concept albums, including A Tribute to Roy Acuff, King of Country Music in 1962 and Irish Songs, Country Style in 1964. The latter helped lead to his success as a touring artist in England and Ireland during the '70s.

In 2001, Locklin recorded Generations in Song, an album that featured Parton and Vince Gill, among others. He recently released his 65th album, By the Grace of God, a collection of gospel songs.

[MickeyMac]

R.I.P.

[Scoobiedoo30]

Rest in Peace Hank

[catlover79]

[DLevine2]

R.I.P. Hank & Ernie.