Band, written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for their fourth studio album, On the Rise (1983).

The song has subsequently been covered by several artists, including Deborah Cox (whose version reached number eight on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart), Mariah Carey (who performed it live on her 1993 Music Box Tour and 1996 Daydream Tour), Shayne Ward (who recorded it for his 2007 album Breathless), and Faithless in 2008 in a collaboration with Dido.

The song was also sampled by rapper Silkk the Shocker for his 1998 single "Just Be Straight with Me", which also features Destiny's Child.

Norman Cook, later known as Fatboy Slim, was involved with a very successful UK version with his band Beats International, who took the song to number one as "Dub Be Good to Me", which features a backing track consisting mainly of a sample of the Clash's "The Guns of Brixton".

In 2018, Cyantific released the album Bloodline which contains "Wild Child" featuring lyrics from the song.