B-side "If You Don't Know" Label ABC-Paramount | Released October 1956 Length 2:02 | |
"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. The song was published in 1956. The best-known version was recorded by George Hamilton IV, who sang it almost a cappella. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard magazine pop chart.
Contents
"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" showed regional appeal in country music, foreshadowing Hamilton's highly successful career, in the 1960s.
Covers
At the same date as Billboard reviewed George Hamilton IV´s original version - in October 1956 - they reviewed a competing cover sung by Eddie Fontaine and released by Decca. Billboard predicted it would be a close race between the two recordings, but the Decca release did not make even the lower part of Billboard´s Top 100.
Johnny Maestro & The Crests did a version in 1960 for their first album, "The Crests Sing All Biggies" - (Coed LP 901).
Al Kooper covered it on his 1970 Columbia release "Easy Does It".
The song was covered by Marilyn Manson as a bonus studio track on the limited edition version of The Last Tour On Earth live album in 1999.