"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" is a song written by

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

under his "Johnny Dee" pseudonym. The song was published in 1956. The best-known version was recorded by

George Hamilton IV George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s. Biography Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, ...

. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard magazine pop chart and spent 20 weeks on the chart. "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" showed regional appeal in country music, foreshadowing Hamilton's highly successful career, in the 1960s.

Chart performance

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 The Crests were an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. Their most popular song, " 16 Candles", rose to #2 on the ' ...

did a version in 1960 for their first album, "The Crests Sing All Biggies" - (Coed LP 901).

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

covered it on his 1970 Columbia release " Easy Does It". The song was covered by

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

as a bonus studio track on the limited edition version of

The Last Tour On Earth ''The Last Tour on Earth'' is a live album comprising recordings from Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals Tour, Beautiful Monsters Tour and Rock is Dead Tour, released on November 12, 1999. On the studio version of " The Dope Show", Manson say ...

live album in 1999.

Singles

By George Hamilton IV

*(1956) A Rose and a Baby Ruth/If You Don't Know- ABC Paramount Records *(1956) A Rose and a Baby Ruth/If You Don't Know-

Colonial Records Colonial Records was a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based record label that provided the springboard for artists Andy Griffith, George Hamilton IV, John D. Loudermilk, and Billy "Crash" Craddock. Origin Colonial Records was a record label found ...

''With the Country Gentlemen, Featuring Joe Tanner on guitar''

References

External links

* Songs written by John D. Loudermilk 1956 songs 1956 singles Colonial Records John D. Loudermilk songs George Hamilton IV songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub