Light of the World were originally a forerunner of the late 1970s/early 1980s British jazz-funk movement. The band's name is taken from the 1974 Kool and the Gang album, Light of Worlds. The band was formed by Breeze McKrieth, Kenny Wellington, Paul Williams, Jean Paul Maunick and David Baptiste. McKreith, Wellington and Baptiste also formed the offshoot band Beggar & Co. Maunick and Williams also formed the band Incognito.