It began as a hymn, written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice"), by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to a 1704 melody by J.

The B-side of the single was Hawkins' own modern arrangement of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" originally written by Charles Wesley in 1740.

[7][8] Hawkins rearranged the hymn to give it more of a gospel feel, and devised a piano introduction which he said was influenced by the music of Sérgio Mendes.

"[13][14] The song has appeared in many movies, beginning with the German film Seventeen and Anxious [de] in 1970, but most notably Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act 2,[15] with then 14-year-old Ryan Toby singing lead.

The song also appears in Big Momma's House,[16] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps,[17] David LaChapelle's 2005 movie Rize,[18] Robin Williams’s 2007 movie License to Wed,[19] the 2010 biographical film produced by Walt Disney Pictures: Secretariat (played when Secretariat wins the Belmont), and Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers' performance of the song at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival appears in the 2021 music documentary, Summer of Soul.