Songfacts®:

• In 1984, Heart lead singer Ann Wilson teamed up with Loverboy frontman Mike Reno for "Almost Paradise," the love theme from the movie Footloose. Four years later, Wilson got the call for another love theme duet, this time with Robin Zander of Cheap Trick for "Surrender To Me" for the movie Tequila Sunrise. The lovers in the film are Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer.
  
  The movie did well at the box office, and the song was also a hit, going to #6 in the US. The soundtrack also includes songs by Crowded House and Duran Duran.
• "Surrender To Me" was written by Richard Marx along with the composer Ross Vannelli. Marx has a talent for coaxing out a tender emotion in a love song, which he did in this story of a couple who have been through the relationship wringer and are ready to put all that aside and surrender to desire, at least for one night.
• Wilson was thrilled to sing with Robin Zander, whom she ranks among her top vocalists. "'Surrender To Me' was a great song," she recalled in a 2022 Songfacts interview. "And of course, I love singing with Robin because he's one of the best singers that I've ever met. He can sing anything. He can sing an operetta."
• Richard Marx wrote songs for other artists before releasing his debut solo album in 1987. That album was huge, with "Should've Known Better" and "Hold On To The Nights" among the hits. He had the magic touch and was very prolific, still writing for others (here's one you probably didn't expect: "Edge Of A Broken Heart" by Vixen). "Surrender To Me" was on the charts a few months before his second album, Repeat Offender, was released, which includes a song with a similar vibe: "Right Here Waiting."
• Robin Zander holds the record for singing the most hit songs with "surrender" in the title. In 1978, Cheap Trick had a hit with "Surrender."
• Richard Marx recorded his own version of "Surrender To Me" with Lara Fabian for his 1997 album Flesh and Bone.