The song was written by Allee Willis and David Lasley: (Allee Willis quote:) "David and I were just writing all the time, and there was a song out called 'Emotion' by Samantha Sang that we both really loved.

"[1] "Lead Me On" was introduced on Love Lines which was Nightingale's third album for United Artists Records.

Love Lines was issued in 1978 in the UK and Europe and "Lead Me On" was the second of two non-charting singles from the album, the first being "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me").

Although United Artists did not release "Lead Me On" or its parent album in the US, Al Teller, who had been president of United Artists when Nightingale recorded her breakout hit "Right Back Where We Started From", made the US release of "Lead Me On" the debut single on Windsong Records shortly after assuming that company's presidency in January 1979;[2] the track began to accrue interest that spring particularly in the easy listening market with the #1 position on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart attained that July.

[3][4][5] Despite the fact that it was an AC song, it enjoyed better success in Canada, where it reached number three on the CRIA singles chart[6] and spent 4 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the RPM Dance Music Chart.