The Weather Girls
- Actress
- Soundtrack
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.