I Don't Know How to Love Him has been universally acclaimed as the high point of the "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack since the album's September 1970 release; in 2003 "The Rough Guide to Cult Pop" would assess Elliman's performance: "It's rare to hear a singer combine such power and purity of tone in one song, and none of the famous singers who have covered this ballad since have come close." The choice for the first single release went, however, to the track "Superstar" by Murray Head. When a cover of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" by Helen Reddy began moving up the charts in the
I Don't Know How to Love Him introduced in the Mossovet Theatre production which premiered in 1990 and has been constantly revived, marking its 1000 performance in December 2015. Among the singer/ actresses who have performed onstage as Mary Magdalene for Mossovet are Yekaterina Guseva, Irina Klimova () (2008), Lada Maris () (1999, 2005, 2006, 2007), and Anastasija Makiejewa () (2012). An alternate Russian rendering: "Kak dolžen byt' ljubim on" (lyricist Vyacheslav Ptitsyn), was recorded by Tatiana Antsiferova () for the 1992 studio cast album of "JCS", while the St. Petersburg Rock Opera Theatre () production, which premiered February 1990 introduced a rendering of "I Don't Know