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
To Know Him Is to Love Him Sheet". In the United States, the song spent 7 weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 24. In 1969, Bobby Vinton released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Vinton's version spent 7 weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 34, while reaching No. 8 on "Billboard"s Easy Listening chart, No. 16 on Canada's "RPM" 100, and No. 6 on "RPM"s Adult Contemporary chart. In 1972, Jody Miller took a version to No. 18 on the "Billboard" country charts. In 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris