A Rose and a Baby Ruth

"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk under his "Johnny Dee" pseudonym. The song, which partially refers to the Baby Ruth candy bar, was published in 1956. The best-known version was recorded by George Hamilton IV. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard magazine pop chart and spent 20 weeks on the chart.^[1]

"A Rose and a Baby Ruth"
Single by George Hamilton IV
B-side	"If You Don't Know"
Released	October 1956
Genre	Pop
Length	2:02
Label	ABC-Paramount
Songwriter(s)	John D. Loudermilk
George Hamilton IV singles chronology
"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" (1956) "High School Romance" (1957)

"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" showed regional appeal in country music, foreshadowing Hamilton's highly successful career, in the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

Chart performance

Chart (1956–57)	Peak position
Billboard Top 100 [1]	6
Billboard Best Sellers in Stores	7
Billboard Most Played by Jockeys	7
Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes	8

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 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.

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