Written by John Barry and Tim Rice and produced by Stephen Short and Phil Ramone, the song was released through A&M Records in 1983.
"All Time High" marked the return of regular James Bond theme composer John Barry after his absence from the For Your Eyes Only soundtrack for tax problems.
Rice still had to complete his contribution as the singer arrived in the studio, with Coolidge stating that "we were waiting for the lyrics as the instrumental track had already been done.
Generally unmentioned in reviews for Octopussy, "All Time High" was cited by The Washington Post as "inane...its silly Tim Rice lyrics sung with deadly lethargy by Rita Coolidge.
In the UK, "All Time High" rose no higher than #75 and remains the lowest-charting James Bond theme; "The Man with the Golden Gun" by Lulu had failed to reach the then fifty-rung chart in 1974 and "Moonraker" by Shirley Bassey fell short of the Top 75 in 1979.
Additionally "All Time High" afforded Coolidge chart placements in Australia – #80; Canada – #38, New Zealand – #26, and South Africa – #8.
[5] According to the Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits by Wesley Hyatt, Coolidge considered "All Time High" to be an unfinished work and customarily would include the song in concert via her backing musicians playing it as an overture rather than singing it as part of her program.