Alabama State Senator Bobby Denton was the first to record "Sweet and Innocent" in 1958 but the record went nowhere.
Roy Orbison recorded seven tunes at RCA: "Sweet and Innocent", "Jolie", Almost Eighteen", "Seems to Me", "I'll Never Tell", "The Bug" and "Paper Boy". The latter two were re-recorded at Monument only days later. Roy and the Jordanaires were the second act to record "Sweet and Innocent" (Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill) with Chet Atkins as producer in 1958. He had a very short stay at RCA before moving on to an incredible career with Monument Records.

Teen idol Donny Osmond hit the top ten with his version of "Sweet and Innocent" produced at the Fame Studio by composer Rick Hall from "The Donny Osmond Album" in 1971. It's the same song but with altered lyrics and a completely different feeling.