Higher Plane

After the commercial success of their previous album, Wild and Peaceful, Kool & the Gang wanted to focus on their artistic side with the jazz-infused Light of Worlds. In a Billboard interview, Ronald Bell, the band's saxophonist and musical director, explained the significance of the first single, "Higher Plane." Said Bell: "This song came after success - gold records, the accolades. But what does it all mean?" He added: "The lyric is self-explanatory. For me, it was an offering for people to reach for higher things in life, to strive for excellence. That was the energy behind it."

This was a #1 hit on the R&B chart.

Ronald Bell admitted to Billboard that the Gang was tapping into a transcendental concept that was popular in songs at the time, like Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Head to the Sky."