[1] In 1978, despite their music's recent feature in Saturday Night Fever, Kool & the Gang were "at a low point"[3] of commercial decline.

[4] The Rolling Stone wrote that the band struggled to maintain its relevance in the disco world, despite a prominent horn section.

"[3] The Detroit Free Press opined that "Kool and the Gang have gone bland," noting that "they've joined the disco lemmings...The edge has gone".

[citation needed] Ronald Bell recalled that a teenager visiting the store told the band "something they all vaguely sensed": that despite the success of "Jungle Boogie" (1973), "Hollywood Swinging" (1974), and "Funky Stuff" (1973), Kool & the Gang was "now...washed up".

The following year, producer Eumir Deodato arranged for traditional choruses, a front man vocalist (J. T. Taylor) and the band released Ladies' Night.