The Superiors (Dwight Burgess, Travis Fountain, Delin Green, Jay Greer and Sean Miranda) recorded "Step By Step" (Maurice Starr) in the summer of 1987 as their one and only Motown single. Producer, writer Maurice Starr (Lawrence Johnson) also discovered the group New Edition along with creating NKOTB.

New Kids On The Block (lead vocalist Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wahlberg and Danny Wood) sat at the top of Billboard in 1990 with their version of "Step By Step" produced by the writer and from the album of the same name. NKOTB were marketed to their fans through an ABC Saturday morning cartoon using an instrumental of "Step By Step" as the closing theme and their merchandising would perhaps make even The Monkees blush.