[1] The song was shopped to Helen Reddy who recorded it for her Long Hard Climb album which was released August 1973, and the track was issued as a single that October.

[3] Capitol Records was correct in believing the resemblance to Reddy's precedent hit would work in "Leave Me Alone"'s favor as the song reached the American Top Ten chart six weeks after its single release.

3 on the Billboard Hot 100,[5] making Long Hard Climb the only one of Reddy's albums to feature two Top Ten songs.

[citation needed] The song was the subject of a nationwide contest in America in which listeners would submit to their local radio station their estimation of how many times Reddy sang the phrase "leave me alone" in the song; submissions of the correct answer - which Reddy states is 43 - were eligible for a trip for two to see Helen in concert.

Country music artist Arlene Harden covered "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" in a Nashville session produced by Frank Jones on 10 May 1974[15] with the track serving as her debut release on Capitol Records that June;[16] it fell short of hit status with a No.