"Dear John" is a song written by Tex Ritter and Aubrey Gass.
According to Colin Escott's 2004 biography of Hank Williams, producer Fred Rose initially saw "Cold, Cold Heart" as a B-side and regarded "Dear John" a more appropriate A-side, since jukeboxes preferred up-tempo singles.
Eventually Tex Ritter got a credit on the song likely after promising songwriter Aubrey Gass he would get the song cut by a big name or get Gass a contract with his label Capitol if he got a piece of the composition.
[3] Williams recorded the song at the same session that he cut "Cold, Cold Heart," with Fred Rose producing and backing from Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar), Chet Atkins (rhythm guitar), and Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater," aka Howard Watts (bass).
"Time Marches On" held the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for three weeks.