Produced by Hugo & Luigi and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the A-side to "Bring It On Home to Me".

While in Atlanta, Cooke called co-producer Luigi Creatore and pitched both numbers; he was sold and booked an immediate recording session in Los Angeles scheduled for two weeks later.

Hall assembled an eighteen-piece backing group, "composed of six violins, two violas, two cellos, and a sax, plus a seven-piece rhythm section that included two percussionists, two bassists, two guitars, and a piano.

[3] Luther Vandross covered the song during the bridge on his 1982 hit "Bad Boy/Having a Party"; however, only the chorus is sung in this version, and new words were added to it (e.g. the closing line "you can't go").

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes covered it on their live album Reach Up and Touch the Sky (1981), and in 2020 still include it in their setlist.

Bruce Springsteen covered it in a medley with The E Street Shuffle on the live album Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 (which was released in 2006).