Ernest Ashworth (1928-2009) was a country music singer who spent part of his early life working on guided missiles at the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. He became a successful country music star, joining the cast of The Grand Ole Opry in 1964 and owning several radio stations.
Ashworth's version of "Talk Back Trembling Lips" only reached #101 on the Billboard pop chart but made it to #1 on the country chart. It was released at approximately the same time as Johnny Tillotson's version of the song, which made it all the way to #7 on the Billboard pop chart.
I don't particularly like the song all that much - I'm not a huge fan of that style of country music - but if I had to pick a version, I prefer Ashworth's, as it's less slickly produced. The CHUM program director of the time agreed with me, as Tillotson's version wasn't played on the station.
Created December 30, 2025.