"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 "In ...

under his "Johnny Dee" pseudonym. The song, which partially refers to the Baby Ruth candy bar, was published in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. 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

On the same date ''Billboard'' reviewed George Hamilton IV´s original version, in October 1956, they reviewed a competing cover sung by

Eddie Fontaine Eddie Fontaine (March 6, 1927 – April 13, 1992) was an American actor and singer, best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Born Edward Reardon in Springfield, Massachusetts, Fontaine signed as a vocalist with RCA in ...

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 are 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 an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song " Like ...

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 is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

as a bonus studio track on the limited-edition version of '' The Last Tour On Earth'' 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 ''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