Izora Margaret Rhodes-Armstead (July 6, 1942 – September 16, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter. Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved fame as one half of the successful act Two Tons O' Fun who sang backup vocals for American disco singer Sylvester. After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number 2 in the dance charts. The duo was renamed

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, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female back ...

in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "

It's Raining Men "It's Raining Men" is a song by the American musical duo the Weather Girls from their third studio album, '' Success'' (1983). It was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 1982, through Columbia Records and CBS Records Internati ...

", which brought the duo to mainstream pop attention. As a duo, The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums. After The Weather Girls disbanded in 1988, Armstead released a single, "Don't Let Love Slip Away" (1991). In 1991, she reformed The Weather Girls with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes, who had been one of the duo's background singers. Over the course of a decade, they released three albums: ''Double Tons of Fun'' (1993), ''Think Big!'' (1995), and ''Puttin' On The Hits'' (1999). On September 16, 2004, Armstead died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sou ...

Early life

Izora M. Rhodes was born on July 6, 1942, in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. She moved to San Francisco, California with her family when she was a child. At the young age of four, she began playing piano and later began singing at age eight.The Weather Girls
Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 31, 2019 Rhodes eventually became the lead vocalist and pianist of San Francisco Inspirational Choir.Published by Macmillan. (2005). The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco. Joshua Gamson, Pages 115–118. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=LwIGcuy_xxMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false Rhodes studied classical music at San Francisco Conservatory. She modeled herself after her favorite singers

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

and

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

. By 1975, Rhodes had a total of seven children, six boys and a girl, that she raised as a single parent. To support her children, Rhodes worked as a bartender and a

nurse assistant Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—inclu ...

. In addition, Rhodes also worked as a piano and vocal teacher. In 1976, Rhodes married a new husband and changed her last name to Armstead. According to the autobiography book ''The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco'' written by Joshua Gamson, she had a total of eleven children (four of which are allegedly step-children) with then-new husband rmstead Now Izora Armstead, she eventually landed in a short-lived gospel group called N.O.W. (News of the World), which would include neighborhood friend

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

.Martha Wash Cover Story
America's AIDS Magazine. Retrieved on January 28, 2019

Career

1976–1981: Sylvester and Two Tons O' Fun

In February 1976, friend

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 (sometimes referred to as "The Two Tons"). 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", which charted at number eighteen on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Dance chart.Sylvester , Billboard Chart History
Billboard. Retrieved on February 1, 2019 In 1978, Sylvester released his fourth album ''Step II'', which also featured The Two Tons' background vocals throughout the album. "

Dance (Disco Heat) "Dance (Disco Heat)" is a song by American singer Sylvester and his backup vocalists Two Tons O' Fun. The song appears on his 1978 album, ''Step II''. Chart performance The song was Sylvester's first Top 40 hit in the United States, where it pe ...

", the album's lead single which featured The Tons, peaked at number one on ''

'' Dance chart and became their first number-one single on that chart. In 1979, Two Tons O' Fun sang background on Sylvester's live album ''Living Proof''. Later that year, the duo secured their own record deal with

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. On January 24, 1980, the duo released their debut self-titled album ''Two Tons of Fun''. The album spawned two top-five dance singles: "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" and "I Got the Feeling".Two Tons of Fun , Billboard Chart History
Billboard. Retrieved on February 1, 2019 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.

1982–1988: The Weather Girls

In September 1982, the duo released their single "

". The song became their biggest hit, peaking at number one on the Dance chart and number forty-six on ''Billboards Hot 100 chart.The Weather Girls , Billboard Chart History
Billboard. Retrieved on February 1, 2019 Following the success of the song, Two Tons o Fun changed their group name to The Weather Girls. On January 22, 1983, they released their third album '' Success''. The album's titled-track "Success" was released as the second single and peaked at number eighty-nine on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. In 1985, The Weather Girls released their fourth album ''

Big Girls Don't Cry Big Girls Don't Cry may refer to: Music * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (Lynn Anderson album), 1968 * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (The Weather Girls album), 1986 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie song), 2007 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (The Four Seasons song), ...

''. In 1988, The Weather Girls released their self-titled fourth album ''The Weather Girls'', the final album featuring Armstead and Wash. Shortly after the release of the album, The Weather Girls were dropped from Columbia and soon disbanded to pursue solo careers.Disco Diva Izora Armstead Dies
Billboard. Retrieved on March 31, 2019

1989–1991: Solo career

Following the disbandment of The Weather Girls, Armstead pursued a brief solo career. She began touring as a solo artist, performing songs from The Weather Girls. In 1991, she released a single "Don't Let Love Slip Away".

1991–2004: Reformation of The Weather Girls

After a three-year hiatus and Wash pursuing her solo career, Armstead reformed The Weather Girls with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes and relocated to Germany in 1991. Their first album together ''Double Tons of Fun'' was released in 1993. The album's lead single "Can You Feel It" peaked at number two ''Billboards Dance chart. The song also peaked at number 75 on Germany's music chart, their second single to enter that chart since "It's Raining Men". While touring the club circuit, the album's third single "We Shall All Be Free" peaked at number 80 on Germany's music chart. Their follow-up album ''Think Big!'' was released in December 1995. The album saw Armstead's contribution as a songwriter and penning several songs, including the album's third single "The Sound of Sex (Ooh Gitchie O-La-La-Ay)" which was written with her daughter. The album also contained a cover version of Sylvester's 1979 disco hit "Stars", recorded as a duet with Scottish pop singer

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and soul ...

. In 1999, The Weather Girls released eighth studio album ''Puttin' On The Hits'' which contained a collection of covered disco songs. In 2002, they joined the Disco Brothers for a participation in the German National Final for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, with their song "Get Up". Overall, the group finished in thirteenth place.

Final years and death

Armstead's final recording was the single "Big Brown Girl" with The Weather Girls, released in 2004. In August 2004, Armstead returned to the Bay Area to undergo treatment for heart-related problems. In mid-September 2004, Armstead was checked into San Leandro Hospital after her condition deteriorated. On September 16, 2004, Armstead died from heart failure at the age of 62 in 2004 in

.Izora Armstead, a Singer in the Weather Girls Duo, Dies
New York Times. Retrieved on March 31, 2019 She was survived by her seven children. Her funeral was held at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in San Francisco, California. She was laid to rest in

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". History Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several membe ...

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town w ...

Legacy

As of 2004, Armstead's voice has collectively accumulated a total of three number-one

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

singles: "

" (1978) and "

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a 1978 song by American disco/ R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released as the second single from Sylvester's fourth album, '' Step II'' (1978). The song was already ...

" (1978) with Sylvester; and "It's Raining Men" with The Weather Girls. Her single "It's Raining Men" was ranked the song at thirty-five on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000, and also at thirty-five in their 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s in 2009. Armstead's daughter Dynelle Rhodes received the rights to The Weather Girls name. Rhodes added a then-new member Ingrid Arthur to The Weather Girls and began performing as a tribute to Armstead. The Weather Girls' album "Totally Wild" (2005) was dedicated to Armstead. In 2012, Rhodes replaced Ingrid Arthur with Dorrey Lin Lyles. On September 14, 2014, Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical, a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical about Sylvester, debuted in New York City.Wanna Funk Off-Broadway? Anthony Wayne Will Co-Direct, Write & Star in Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical
Broadway. Retrieved on March 31, 2019 Armstead's likeness was featured in the production and she was portrayed by actress Anastacia McCleskey.

Discography

;Singles * 1991: "Don't Let Love Slip Away"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstead, Izora 1942 births 2004 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers African-American record producers African-American women writers American contemporary R&B singers American contraltos American dance musicians American disco musicians American expatriates in Germany American women pop singers American house musicians American hi-NRG musicians American music publishers (people) African-American women singer-songwriters American soul singers Columbia Records artists Singers from San Francisco Songwriters from San Francisco American women in electronic music 21st-century African-American women singers Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Singer-songwriters from California The Weather Girls members