"The Heat Is On" sold 500,000 copies in its first month of release and spent 40 weeks on the U.S. "Billboard" Pop Albums chart. It became the Isley Brothers' first number-one album in the United States. The album initially received generally favorable reviews from publications, including "The Village Voice", "Melody Maker", and "Rolling Stone". Music critics have since cited the album as among the Isley Brothers' best work. In 1999, "The Heat Is On" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with shipments of two million copies. It was reissued on compact disc in 2001 by Epic Records.