Few songs have danced their way into pop culture quite like “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” But the story behind this iconic Dirty Dancing anthem is even more extraordinary — and it all starts with a struggling musician, a tollbooth in New Jersey, and a movie no one believed in.

Back in the mid-80s, songwriter Franke Previte was practically on the ropes. With just $100 left in his bank account, he received a call from his former label boss Jimmy Ienner asking him to write something for a little film called Dirty Dancing. As he later joked to The Guardian, he thought his old friend had started making “dodgy movies.” But Ienner insisted — this song would change his life.

Working with long-time collaborator John DeNicola (with Donald Markowitz helping finesse the music), Previte crafted a structure unlike anything on the charts at the time: a half-time chorus that burst into an upbeat, double-time verse. Driving to a recording session, he slipped the demo cassette into his car stereo and, as he paid the toll at Exit 140 on the Garden State Parkway, the line fell out of his mouth: “I’ve had the time of my life.” He scribbled it on an envelope. Lightning had struck.

But on the movie set, things weren’t going much better. As writer-producer Eleanor Bergstein explained in a fantastic deep-dive from The Ringer, the team had spent weeks auditioning songs for the film’s final dance — and hated every single one. A day before shooting the finale, Ienner delivered a last-minute box of tapes. Within 30 seconds of hearing Previte’s demo, the exhausted cast and crew were literally dancing around the room. They’d finally found the song.

Enter Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes — two powerhouse voices who almost didn’t record it. Warnes took the gig partly for the fun of singing with Medley; Medley only agreed if the session moved to Los Angeles so he didn’t miss the birth of his daughter. In the studio, they faced each other, Warnes watching footage of Patrick Swayze lifting Jennifer Grey so she could time her crescendos perfectly. They wrapped the vocal in under an hour.

The song was released before the film — and barely caused a ripple. But when Dirty Dancing hit cinemas in 1987, that final scene changed everything. Audiences left the theatre buzzing, rushing straight to record stores. Soon, the movie was a worldwide smash, and the song rocketed to No. 1, winning an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy.

Today, “Time of My Life” is still one of those magic moments in music — instantly uplifting, forever nostalgic, and guaranteed to get people on their feet. A true reminder that sometimes the biggest hits come from the most unlikely beginnings… and a tollbooth on the Garden State Parkway.