Released on February 3, 1979, the song was written and composed by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, and recorded for the group's successful 1979 album We Are Family.

"[1] The song was released as the lead single from the album at the beginning of 1979, crossing over from the clubs – its 12″ version was shared by the "We Are Family" and "Lost in Music" tracks[citation needed] – to R&B radio, giving Sister Sledge a number one hit on both Billboard's Dance and R&B charts in March 1979.

"He's the Greatest Dancer" was sampled by Will Smith in his 1997 number one hit single "Gettin' Jiggy wit It," the first selection he released from his album Big Willie Style.

[3][4] The recording features Rodgers on guitar, Edwards on bass, Tony Thompson on percussion, Andrew Barrett on piano, Raymond Jones on backing keyboards, and orchestration by Gene Orloff's Chic Strings.

[5] Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, who produced the We Are Family album for Sister Sledge, originally formulated all its songs with the group in mind, envisioning the title selection as the lead single.

When Atlantic Records wanted a more overtly disco song Edwards and Rodgers gave Sister Sledge "He's The Greatest Dancer," which they had originally intended for Chic.

Rodgers says he and Edwards refused to change the lyric "because we knew the world that we were writing about obviously more than [Sister Sledge] did because they had never even been in a disco...He ain't going to go home because [he is] the greatest dancer...he's gonna stay there longer than you.

Though the selection was recorded as the charity single for that year's Children in Need, it was dropped when Minogue pulled out of Strictly Come Dancing to work on rival TV show The X Factor.