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The Weather Girls
The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, Wash and Armstead began their musical careers as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After several years of singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records as Two Tons O' Fun. The duo changed their name to The Weather Girls and were launched into somewhat more mainstream recognition following the release of the single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one song on the US Dance Chart and their biggest hit. Despite having several hit songs on the Dance Chart as Two Tons O' Fun and The Weather Girls, the duo never achieved a top 40 hit on the main US Hot 100 and ultimately disbanded in 1988 after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls.
In 1991, Armstead reformed the duo with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes. Over the course of a decade, the Armstead and Rhodes released three albums: Double Tons of Fun (1993), Think Big!, and Puttin' On the Hits (1999). In 2004, Armstead died due to heart failure and was replaced with singer Ingrid Arthur. Following the release of two albums Totally Wild! (2004) and The Woman I Am (2009), Arthur left the group and was replaced with singer Dorrey Lin Lyles in 2012. April 11, 2025 Darnita Williams join the group.
As the Weather Girls with Martha Wash and Izora Armstead, the duo received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1984.
Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash met at a young age. Wash attended Church of God in Christ, which was an alley away from the Baptist church Rhodes was attending. Rhodes was the lead vocalist and pianist of the San Francisco Inspirational Choir. Wash and Rhodes eventually landed in a gospel group called N.O.W. (News of the World). While performing part-time in the group, Wash worked as a secretary for UC Hospital while Rhodes worked as a bartender and a nurse assistant. Rhodes also worked as a piano and vocal teacher.
In February 1976, Wash auditioned as a backup singer before American singer-songwriter Sylvester and his manager Brent Thomson. Impressed with her vocal performance, Sylvester inquired if she had another large black friend who could sing, after which she introduced him to Izora Rhodes. Although he referred to them simply as "the girls", Wash and Rhodes formed a musical duo called Two Tons O' Fun. Two Tons O' Fun debuted as Sylvester's backing vocalists on his self-titled third album Sylvester, released in 1977. The duo sang backup vocals on the album's singles "Down, Down, Down" and "Over and Over"; the former charted at number eighteen on the Billboard Dance chart.
In 1978, Sylvester released his fourth album Step II, in which The Two Tons also contributed background vocals throughout the album. They performed backing vocals on the singles "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" which both peaked at number one on Billboard's Dance chart. In 1979, the duo secured their own record deal with Fantasy Records. That same year, Two Tons O' Fun sang background on Sylvester's live album Living Proof, one of their final performances together. As they began to work on their own album, the duo appeared in fewer shows with Sylvester.
On January 24, 1980, the duo released their debut self-titled album Two Tons o' Fun. The album spawned two top-five dance singles: "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" and "I Got the Feeling". Shortly after the release of the album, they changed their name to The Two Tons after being informed that an Oklahoma gospel act had already registered the group name "Two Tons o Fun" with ASCAP since 1958. Their second album Backatcha was released later that year. The album spawned a single "I Depend On You" that peaked at number seventy-two on the Dance chart. The follow-up single "Never Like This" peaked at number fifty-five on the R&B chart.
In September 1982, the duo released their single "It's Raining Men", and changed their duo title to The Weather Girls, a name chosen as a pun on the song's subject. The song became their biggest hit to date, peaking at number one on the Dance chart and number forty-six on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The song also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and became certified Silver-status for sales exceeding 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. "It's Raining Men" received a nomination at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983) for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. On January 22, 1983, they released their third album Success. Despite the overall success of the album's lead single, the album experienced mild success. The album's title-track "Success" was released as the second single and peaked at number eighty-nine on the R&B chart. Two additional singles, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas)", were also released but failed to chart.
The Weather Girls
The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, Wash and Armstead began their musical careers as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After several years of singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records as Two Tons O' Fun. The duo changed their name to The Weather Girls and were launched into somewhat more mainstream recognition following the release of the single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one song on the US Dance Chart and their biggest hit. Despite having several hit songs on the Dance Chart as Two Tons O' Fun and The Weather Girls, the duo never achieved a top 40 hit on the main US Hot 100 and ultimately disbanded in 1988 after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls.
In 1991, Armstead reformed the duo with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes. Over the course of a decade, the Armstead and Rhodes released three albums: Double Tons of Fun (1993), Think Big!, and Puttin' On the Hits (1999). In 2004, Armstead died due to heart failure and was replaced with singer Ingrid Arthur. Following the release of two albums Totally Wild! (2004) and The Woman I Am (2009), Arthur left the group and was replaced with singer Dorrey Lin Lyles in 2012. April 11, 2025 Darnita Williams join the group.
As the Weather Girls with Martha Wash and Izora Armstead, the duo received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1984.
Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash met at a young age. Wash attended Church of God in Christ, which was an alley away from the Baptist church Rhodes was attending. Rhodes was the lead vocalist and pianist of the San Francisco Inspirational Choir. Wash and Rhodes eventually landed in a gospel group called N.O.W. (News of the World). While performing part-time in the group, Wash worked as a secretary for UC Hospital while Rhodes worked as a bartender and a nurse assistant. Rhodes also worked as a piano and vocal teacher.
In February 1976, Wash auditioned as a backup singer before American singer-songwriter Sylvester and his manager Brent Thomson. Impressed with her vocal performance, Sylvester inquired if she had another large black friend who could sing, after which she introduced him to Izora Rhodes. Although he referred to them simply as "the girls", Wash and Rhodes formed a musical duo called Two Tons O' Fun. Two Tons O' Fun debuted as Sylvester's backing vocalists on his self-titled third album Sylvester, released in 1977. The duo sang backup vocals on the album's singles "Down, Down, Down" and "Over and Over"; the former charted at number eighteen on the Billboard Dance chart.
In 1978, Sylvester released his fourth album Step II, in which The Two Tons also contributed background vocals throughout the album. They performed backing vocals on the singles "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" which both peaked at number one on Billboard's Dance chart. In 1979, the duo secured their own record deal with Fantasy Records. That same year, Two Tons O' Fun sang background on Sylvester's live album Living Proof, one of their final performances together. As they began to work on their own album, the duo appeared in fewer shows with Sylvester.
On January 24, 1980, the duo released their debut self-titled album Two Tons o' Fun. The album spawned two top-five dance singles: "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" and "I Got the Feeling". Shortly after the release of the album, they changed their name to The Two Tons after being informed that an Oklahoma gospel act had already registered the group name "Two Tons o Fun" with ASCAP since 1958. Their second album Backatcha was released later that year. The album spawned a single "I Depend On You" that peaked at number seventy-two on the Dance chart. The follow-up single "Never Like This" peaked at number fifty-five on the R&B chart.
In September 1982, the duo released their single "It's Raining Men", and changed their duo title to The Weather Girls, a name chosen as a pun on the song's subject. The song became their biggest hit to date, peaking at number one on the Dance chart and number forty-six on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The song also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and became certified Silver-status for sales exceeding 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. "It's Raining Men" received a nomination at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983) for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. On January 22, 1983, they released their third album Success. Despite the overall success of the album's lead single, the album experienced mild success. The album's title-track "Success" was released as the second single and peaked at number eighty-nine on the R&B chart. Two additional singles, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas)", were also released but failed to chart.
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