Ernie Ashworth

HARTSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grand Ole Opry singer Ernie Ashworth, who had a No. 1 hit in 1963 with "Talk Back Trembling Lips," has died. He was 80.




Jimmy Anthony, owner of Anthony Funeral Home in Hartsville, said Ashworth died Monday at the Trousdale Medical Center after a sudden illness.

The Huntsville, Ala., native began his career writing songs for Little Jimmy Dickens, Carl Smith, Johnny Horton and pop idol Paul Anka.

As a recording artist, he scored hits with "Everybody But Me" and "I Love to Dance With Annie." He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964.

Former teen country star Molly Bee dies

Molly Bee, who became an overnight country music star when she recorded the 1952 novelty hit I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, has died in California from complications following a stroke.

Bee died on Saturday at a hospital in Oceanside, her manager, Rick Saphire, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Saphire says Bee was 69 and had been in failing health for several months.



Bee was just 10 when she launched her music career, singing the Hank Williams' classic Lovesick Blues on country star Rex Allen's radio show. Three years later she released I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

She went on to record a number of hit country songs throughout the 1950s and appeared in several musical comedies in the 1960s.

Although her star had begun to fade by the 1970s, she continued to tour and perform.