Swayze and Stacy Widelitz co-wrote the song in 1984. During production of Dirty Dancing in 1987, Swayze played the demo for producer Linda Gottlieb and director Emile Ardolino. They loved it and passed it on to Jimmy Ienner and Bob Feiden, the soundtrack's executive producers.[5] It was recorded for the soundtrack in November 1986, with Michael Lloyd producing.
During his appearance on the August 7, 2020 episode of the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, actor Rob Lowe mentioned that Swayze tried to shop the song to the producers of Lowe's 1986 film, Youngblood, for inclusion on its soundtrack but the song was rejected.[6]
The song, like the film in which it was featured, was a success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, and was a hit around the world, reaching the top 10 in at least five other countries. It is still in rotation on radio. The soundtrack album was number one for 18 weeks.[note 1][4]
The song was released commercially on 7" vinyl in many countries, with a 3-track 12" maxi single and 2-track cassette also produced. CD singles were a relatively new format. A 2- and 3-track 5" CD and Japanese mini CD single were commercially released.
American recording artists Lumidee and Tony Sunshine covered the song for Lumidee's second album, Unexpected (2007). It was released as the lead single from Unexpected in the US and Europe on April 3, 2007.
According to Lumidee, the idea to record a remake of Patrick Swayze's 1987 song "She's Like the Wind" was inspired by her European label when she recommended a collaboration with recording artist Tony Sunshine.[30] She also said, "We'd been talking about working together but hadn't been able to. But he loved the idea of doing something with this song."[31]