Originally written by Jack Diéval with French lyrics by the song was introduced as 'J'ai le mal de toi'. It was written for the singer Frédérica in 1960, who took part that year in the national elimination rounds of France for the Eurovision Song Contest. This song was not selected and was evidently not recorded by Frédérica. Subsequently, the song was performed on Belgium's BRT radio station by vocalist Lily Castel, singing it in the "Musik Ohne Grenzen" competition; Castel was backed by 's orchestra with Jacques Dieval providing piano accompaniment. The first evident recording of "J'ai le mal de toi" was made in 1964 by Colette Deréal.

In June 1965 the English rendering entitled "The Way of Love" was issued in the UK as a single by Kathy Kirby; lyricist Al Stillman had previously provided the lyrics for Kirby's English language hit version of "Malagueña" entitled "You're the One". Recorded by Kirby with her regular collaborators: musical director Ivor Raymonde and producer Peter Sullivan, "The Way of Love" failed to reach the UK Top 50 but became a regional hit in the United States reaching #88 nationally.

In 1966 a new French version, also by lyricist Michel Rivgauche, was recorded by Dalida as "Parlez-Moi De Lui" ("Tell me about him"). This rendition slightly alters the original melody. This adaption was covered by Françoise Hardy in 1969.

Produced by Snuff Garrett and released in February 1972 as the second single from "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", perhaps the most well-known version of "The Way of Love" was recorded by Cher. Her version spent three weeks within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, reaching a peak of number 7 and ultimately selling almost one million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 62 song for 1972.

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