The song was inspired by an actual falling star that Shannon Rubicam had seen at one of Whitney Houston's concerts at the Greek Theatre. Initially, the duo did not consider recording it, and instead submitted the song to Clive Davis to consider including it on Houston's next album, but he rejected it, alleging that it did not suit her. The song was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release, Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album. It has, however, circulated on an unofficial compilation of that album's outtakes.

Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988, the song became a hit in the United States, slowly climbing the charts and eventually reaching #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. Released in the UK on November 30, 1988, the song reached number 9 in the UK charts during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988. It also reached #35 on Australia's ARIA Charts in April 1989.

The song was used as the closing track to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, and the single was re-released as a movie tie-in, with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. It peaked at #76 in the UK.

The video game Grand Theft Auto IV included the song in the playlist for the in-game radio station Vice City FM.

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic remarked that the song was "just classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."

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Wikipedia