Between 1975 and 1980, Billboard Magazine hosted a series of eight International Disco Forums, weekend-long trade conferences for members of the music, radio and nightlife industries featuring equipment exhibitors, speakers and panel discussions. Disco Forum V, held at the New York Hilton Hotel 26 February-1 March 1979 and attended by 1,300 registrants from 16 countries and all 50 U.S. states, began with a speech from Manhattan Borough President Andrew Stein declaring 24 February-3 March 'Disco Week in New York'. Throughout the weekend, Billboard sponsored parties at the Roseland Ballroom ballroom headlined by entertainers including Voyage, Village People, Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Peaches & Herb and Sylvester. Donna Summer's record label, Casablanca Record & FilmWorks, sponsored a party at Brooklyn's Empire Roller Skating Center with Cher, who had recently joined the label, skating as the evening's hostess.
At Disco Forum V's climactic banquet, held the evening of 28 February, Donna Summer was awarded five honors including the present for 'MacArthur Park Suite', the seventeen-minute long medley occupying Side 4 of her 1978 double-LP Live and More. During the Disco Forum ceremony, Casablanca received the title of Top Disco Label and awards for production were given to Summer's collaborators, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
'MacArthur Park' was Summer's first recording to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, its single-format release gaining the peak slot on 11 November 1978 and holding it for a total of three weeks. For the single, Summer was also honored at the 21st Grammy Awards in 1979 with a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Its parent album was Summer's first to achieve Platinum status, being certified by the RIAA on 19 October 1978 in recognition of over 2,000,000 copies sold while also becoming Summer's first release to top the Billboard 200 chart, reaching the #1 position the week of 11 November.