Led by guitarist Terry Garthwaite and pianist Toni Brown, who both shared lead vocals, Joy of Cooking was a rare example of a rock band fronted by women.

[4] The rest of the band comprised bass guitarist David Garthwaite (Terry's brother), drummer Fritz Kasten, and percussion player Ron Wilson.

The album was produced by David Rubinson and engineered by Fred Catero for Arista Records, and features accompaniment by numerous jazz artists of contemporaneous or future fame: Howard Roberts and Wah-Wah Watson on guitar; Chuck Domanico and Willie Weeks on bass; Sonny Burke, Roger Kellaway, and Patrice Rushen on keyboards; and Philip Smith on saxophone.

Drums and percussion were played by Harvey Mason, Sr., John Guerin, Scott Mathews, James Gadson, and Bill Summers, and special guest vocals were contributed by The Valentinos and Bobby Womack.

[citation needed] In later years, Garthwaite recorded several more albums for independent labels including Hand in Glove (1979), Moving Day (1985), and Sacred Circles (2000).

(Her discography is sometimes mistakenly conflated with that of former Relix magazine editor Toni Brown, who released numerous independent albums in a similar country-folk-rock vein in the 1990s and 2000s.)

Brown earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and in 1991 founded Four Winds West, a non-profit transitional house for disadvantaged youth in Fairfax, California.