An apparent farewell to a self-absorbed lover, "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" was first recorded by its composer Harriet Schock, who recalled having written its first verse and title on a serviette (napkin) on a plane while "leaving someone for...one of the last times I left him for the last time". The song was introduced on Schock's 1974 album Hollywood Town and issued as a single. Schock states that the program director at a key Los Angeles radio station was taken with the track but found its arrangement slow. 20th Century Records obligingly had Schock cut a brisker version which was delivered to the radio station on a Friday to start airing the following Monday. Schock recalls: "Well, Sunday the program director had a fight with someone at the station and quit."

Despite the failure of Schock's own single version of "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" – and also that of a concurrent cover by a group named LAX – the song gained a reasonably high-profile via its inclusion on the 1974 album One Hell of a Woman by Vikki Carr. In 1975, Helen Reddy recorded "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" for an album which was entitled No Way to Treat a Lady. Personnel on Reddy's album included guitarist Lee Ritenour.

Although the choice of lead single from No Way to Treat a Lady went to the Leon Russell song "Bluebird", the influential LA radio station 93 KHJ began playing "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" resulting in its release as a single in August 1975 with a chart peak that October of #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#5 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart).

"Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" reached #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening charts on October 4, 1975. Although Helen Reddy would have one further Easy Listening #1 – "I Can't Hear You No More" – for a total of eight, "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" would be Reddy's final single to go Top Ten Pop. "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" was also a hit (#12) in New Zealand and became Reddy's final chart item in her native Australia at #94.

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Wikipedia