The arrangement by Riley Hampton, who was then working with Etta James, features a signature organ riff provided by John Young.

Lewis recalled that, on hearing the playback of the finished track, Dells member Chuck Barksdale "kept jumping up and down and saying, ‘It’s a hit, it’s a hit.’...I didn’t really know.

It was all new to me.” McLaughlin flew to New York City to pitch "Hello Stranger" to Atlantic Records, which had picked up Lewis' previous two singles for national release.

The ascent of "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby & the Romantics to the top of the pop and R&B charts in March 1963 motivated Atlantic to release "Hello Stranger" that month.

In 1966, Ollie McLaughlin had the group the Capitols, discovered at a local dance headlined by Barbara Lewis, record "Hello Stranger" to be the B-side of their #7 hit "Cool Jerk".

"Hello Stranger" was also a 1969 single release by Darius before returning to the charts in 1973 when it became a regional hit for Fire & Rain, a folk rock duo comprising veteran Tucson musician Manny Freiser and Patti McCarron, Freiser's then-wife who sang lead; their version, which featured Michael Omartian on keyboards, was arranged by Ben Benay who also played guitar.

Freiser - "Although it had sold 70,000+ copies, 'Hello Stranger' had basically been a 'turntable hit' at Top 40 radio -- one that got played a lot [sic], but didn't break.

In 1977, the song was covered by Hong Kong female singer May Cheng 鄭寶雯 on a compilation LP album 《House Golden Hits 1977 Volume 5》.

The 2016 American drama film Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, features "Hello Stranger" as the song that reunites the main character with his childhood first love.