"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.
"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" showed regional appeal in country music, foreshadowing Hamilton's highly successful career, in the 1960s.
Chart performance Chart (1956–57) Peakposition Billboard Top 100 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 Billboards 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
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