Songfacts®:

• The lead single from Chicago XXXVI: Now, this R&B flavored tune features Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White as well as the auxiliary horn players who sometimes substitute for James Pankow (trombone) and Walter Parazaider (woodwinds). "That one cut, 'Now,' probably has the most non-Chicago personnel on it, and it just sort of worked out that way," founder member Robert Lamm noted to Billboard magazine.
• The placing of the word "Now" in the "Chicago XXXVI" album title was a significant detail. "There's a lot of reasons," Lamm told Billboard. "I think that there are many people who, whether they like Chicago or don't like Chicago, assume that what Chicago does is all what you hear on classic rock radio, or that Chicago is some dinosaur-like presence on the tour circuit. And we just wanted to kind of change that perception if we could by suggesting 'Now.'"
• Four original members of Chicago were still with the band for the Chicago XXXVI: Now, but none of them participated in the writing of this song; it was composed by their bass player Jason Scheff (who joined in 1985) and an outside songwriter named Greg Barnhill, whose compositions include "99.9% Sure" for Brian McComas and "Never Been Kissed" for Sherrie Austin.