Following the release of Chicago III in 1971, which almost left Chicago creatively spent, the band decided to curb their penchant for double albums and work on more concise numbers (in contrast to the suites that had typified their previous work) in order to fit all of their new material onto a single album. Chicago V is also notable for Robert Lamm's prolific songwriting; eight out of its ten tunes are composed solely by him.

Recorded just before Chicago at Carnegie Hall was released in the fall of 1971, Chicago V was cut in just over a week and held over for release until the following summer. Preceded by "Saturday In The Park", which reached #3 - the band's biggest hit thus far, the critically acclaimed Chicago V became the biggest hit album of 1972, not only becoming Chicago's first #1 album but spending nine weeks in the pole position in the US. In the UK, the release managed to reach #24. Follow-up single, "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (#24) also became a Top 30 hit.