Paul Schaffer wrote Its Raining Men and originally offered it to Diana Ross, who (having recently become a born-again Christian) refused it and called it blasphemous. The song was eventually accepted by Martha Wash and Izora Armstead of The Weather Girls, two very large ladies with very large voices who were previously in a duo called Two Tons O Fun. The song became an enormous dance hit that is still played in discos today, and an anthem in the gay community. After the Weather Girls, Martha Wash became a session singer who provided the vocals to several club hits, including the #1 hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C+C Music Factory. Martha was denied credit and royalties for years; studio execs told her that her weight made her unmarketable and music videos featured skinny women lip-syncing to her voice. She eventually sued, and helped establish the industry requirement of proper vocal credit on recorded music. An interesting new fact I learned while writing this: The Weather Girls followed up their classic plea for a man with a Christmas single the following year—Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas). [youtu.be/Ko3yBFoTm5c] I like it almost as much as Its Raining Men. Its definitely something to add to your holiday playlist this year. Tomorrow: the greatest guitarist in the history of rock.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 21:00:01 +0000