As Daryl Hall said in a 2015 interview, " I was in the car with
Janna (Allen), and she said, "I got this idea for a chorus," and she sang that chorus. That's how it all started. And I said, "That's great." We got out of the car, I went to a keyboard, and I put the chords to it. I worked on a verse, and then
Sara (Allen) and I sat and wrote the lyrics together for the verse. So it was sort of a three-way collaboration on that song." The song was inspired by the 1977
Eric Carmen hit "
She Did It", because of the 'did-its' in the song. Carmen was touring with Hall & Oates at the time "Did It in a Minute" became a hit. "She Did It" itself had been inspired by the 'did-its' in the Beach Boys' tune, "
Do It Again".
Record World called it a "hook-filled pop piece." ==Chart performance==