This song alongside a few other singles released between 1957-58 launched Wilson into R&B superstardom. The song became his first top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven.

In 2011 Rolling Stone listed the song at 315 on its 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list.

On September 29, 1975, Wilson collapsed in the middle of performing this song at a New Jersey nightclub. By sheer coincidence he was singing the line “My heart is cryin” as he collapsed. It was later determined he had suffered a heart attack. As a result, he fell into a coma from which he never recovered, dying almost nine years later on January 21, 1984.