Rosalie "Rosie" Méndez Hamlin was raised in Anchorage, Alaska before moving to California; she was of Mexican and English descent.

[3] She wrote the lyrics for "Angel Baby" as a poem for "[her] very first boyfriend" when she was 14 years old, attending Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California.

When the contract finally came, Hamlin found that she was ineligible to collect record royalties from the song because she was not listed as the songwriter.

In 1961, "Angel Baby" was also released in Canada (#6) on the Zirkon label and in Australia and England on London Records.

Lennon recorded a studio version of "Angel Baby" for his 1975 Rock 'n' Roll album, but the track was not issued until 1986's Menlove Avenue.

Rosie and the Originals are referenced by Led Zeppelin in the liner notes from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy, following the printed lyrics of the song "D'yer Mak'er."