Recording sessions for this album were troublesome due to tensions between Khan and drummer Andre Fischer.

Keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski joined up with the band after a stint with Madura, thus complementing founding member Kevin Murphy's playing as well.

In 1978, the Ask Rufus album earned the band their second Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

In a contemporary review, Billboard called Ask Rufus "the work of a wholly matured artist" and Khan "a fully-rounded r&b-rock vocalist who can be silky as well as a raunchy screamer".

[4] Carol Wetzel from the Spokane Daily Chronicle found the music "totally mature and full" yet danceable and highlighted by Khan's versatility and fluidity as a singer.