A Rose and a Baby Ruth
| "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" 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.[1]
"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) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Top 100 | 6 |
| Billboard Best Sellers in Stores | 7 |
| Billboard Most Played by Jockeys | 7 |
| Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes | 8 |
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.
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
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 273.