Labelle consisted of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash, and Nightbirds was their fourth album under that name after reinventing themselves radically as a result of their encounters with Vicki Wickham and Laura Nyro in the early 1970s.

Like the previous three Labelle albums, Nightbirds consisted of a mixture of original songs by Nona Hendryx and a number of covers, including two by Allen Toussaint. The single "Lady Marmalade" broke their space-funk style and glittery stage costumes into the mainstream and remains by far their best-known song. It topped the Billboard Pop singles chart, driving Nightbirds to #7 on the pop album charts, but the lack of a follow-up single made it difficult for Labelle to maintain their success.

Track listing

1. "Lady Marmalade" (Bob Crewe, Keith Nolan) – 3:56
2. "Somebody Somewhere" (Nona Hendryx) – 3:25
3. "Are You Lonely?" (Nona Hendryx) – 3:12
4. "It Took a Long Time" (Raymond Bloodworth, L. Brown, Bob Crewe) – 4:03
5. "Don't Bring Me Down" (Allen Toussaint) – 2:48
6. "What Can I Do for You?" (Edward Batts, James R. Budd Ellison) – 4:02
7. "Nightbird" (Nona Hendryx) – 3:09
8. "Space Children" (Nona Hendryx) – 3:02
9. "All Girl Band" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:50
10. "You Turn Me On" (Nona Hendryx) – 4:37