The single peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1965;[1] its relatively low chart placement possibly being the result of the band's label, Autumn Records, verging on collapse at the time.

[3] "Don't Talk to Strangers" was written by Ron Elliott and Bob Durand.

The song has received generally positive reviews in the decades since its release.

San Francisco Chronicle music critic Joel Selvin called the song inventive,[4] while author Maury Dean praised the song's "raging chord patterns and dynamic harmonies," and called the instrumental bridge "second to none in punch and pulse in power.

"[2] The song has been criticized, however, for sounding too similar to The Byrds in regard to the harmonies and twelve-string guitar licks.