The Weather Girls

The Weather Girls are an American all-girl dance club pop music duo that was started by plus-sized singers Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes-Armstead. The portly pair began as members of the San Francisco, California gospel group NOW (News of the World) and sang back-up vocals for 70s transvestite disco singer Sylvester prior to branching out on their own as Two Tons of Fun. Two Tons of Fun had a trio of #2 Hot Dance Club Party chart hits in the early 80s with the songs "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven," "Just Us," and "I Got the Feeling." Martha and Izora changed their name to the Weather Girls after signing up with Columbia Records in 1982. The Weather Girls scored a massive smash with the delightfully rowdy "It's Raining Men;" the lively and infectious number was a #1 US dance chart hit for two weeks, went all the way to #34 on the R&B charts, and even managed to crack the mainstream pop radio Top 50 at #46. Moreover, "It's Raining Men" sold over six million copies worldwide. The Weather Girls enjoyed follow-up hit singles with the songs "Well-A-Wiggy" and "No One Can Love You More Than Me." Wash left the group in the late 80s to pursue a highly successful solo career. Rhodes-Armstead took a brief hiatus to concentrate on raising her family before relaunching the Weather Girls in the early 90s in Germany with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes. Dynelle and Izora participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002; they came in at thirteen out of fifteen contestants with the song "Get Up." Izora Rhodes-Armstead died of heart failure at age 62 on September 16, 2004. Despite this tragedy, The Weather Girls are still together. The current line-up consists of Dynelle Rhodes and her sister Ingrid Arthur. This particular incarnation of the Weather Girls recorded the album "Totally Wild" in 2005 and scored an underground club hit with the song "Wild Thang" that same year.