Customer Reviews

Success

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This album is pure 80's and among the best that era has to offer. It's in-your-face funk and Mesdames Martha and Izora sure do excel at wailing and belting out the big notes. "It's Raining Men" needs no introduction, nor do the other tracks. "Dear Santa" almost matches that gem for its power, humour and drivng gospel-disco dance beat. You want beat? You want rhythm? You want music that gets into your feet (and makes you smile)? You want the best 80's dance tracks? ... then you want "Success".

This album is pure 80's and among the best that era has to offer. It's in-your-face funk and Mesdames Martha and Izora sure do excel at wailing and belting out the big notes. "It's Raining Men" needs no introduction, nor do the other tracks. "Dear Santa" almost matches that gem for its power, humour and drivng gospel-disco dance beat. You want beat? You want rhythm? You want music that gets into your feet (and makes you smile)? You want the best 80's dance tracks? ... then you want "Success".

It's probobly my favorite disco-pop album. Martha Wash & Izora Armsteadsound so good here, so powerfull and joyfull! the songs are great, and the lyrics so funny! The musical arrangements are very groovy, with lots of drums, horns, and those girls sure know how to scream. best track: Dear Santa, Success, and of course - It's raining men. Hallelujah!

I agree with the reviewer who writes that this album is pure 80's beat! The CD starts out strong with the song "Success," in which The Weather Girls sing of their ecstasy about becoming famous and they thank their fans for putting them at the top. In fact, not only does the CD start out strong, the whole set of tracks is real strong! The Weather Girls celebrate sexuality without any shame and they have fun doing it, too! I myself really liked the CD; it immediately brought back memories of when I was younger and songs like this constantly played on the radio.

Of course, the CD's most famous song is "It's Raining Men." This song brought The Weather Girls their greatest fame and notoriety as a first rate singing duo.

There are no lyrics in the liner notes but it's hardly a drawback since the songs are so good! The quality of the sound is excellent and the picture of them on the cover is awesome!

I recommend this CD for Weather Girl fans (as if they didn't already know about it) and fans of 80's music and disco! It's also a great way to remember the late Izora Rhodes Armstead who passed away just a few days ago. May she live on in heaven forever--and GET THIS CD! GRIN

Honey, this CD must be lucky, because every time I slap it into the changer, my personal dream man appears on my doorstep! "It's Raining Men" is a funky promise, and "Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" will give ANY girl strength to go on! Wear it and be wonderful!

Here's the completed works of The Weather Girls (Past & Present):

1. 1975 And 1977- Martha Wash appeared on Verlin Sandles gospel LP's-
1975 "I'll Be Happy" and 1977 "Tradewinds" as background singer. Martha
sings a solo on the song "Tradewinds"(a Roberta Flack cover). Verlin Sandles
was a well-known gospel singer in the San Francisco bay area and at one point appeared for 22 months as the lead gospel soloist in Jon Henderick's smash hit play "EVOLUTION OF THE BLUES" at the On Broadway Theatre in San Francisco, and received standing ovations nightly. This may well be the first known recording
of Martha. I read an article once that said Martha and Izora appeared on albums put out by their gospel group NEWS OF THE WORLD (NOW), but I have yet to come across any of those albums- but if they exist it would be a choir singing, so they may not be heard individually.

2. 1977- Sylvester held auditions for background singers and Martha Wash was chosen, he asked Martha if she knew of any other big black female singer and she called Izora and the rest is Hertory. They appeared on Sylvester James' third LP- "SYLVESTER" and sang their first duet, a song called "I BEEN DOWN", as Two Tons O' Fun (the name came from Izora's great sense of humour).

3. 1978- The disco group PARADISE EXPRESS used Izora's and Martha's big voices on their self-titled debut LP; most notably Izora on "REVEREND LEE", and Martha on "STAR IN MY LIFE", and then together on a cover of Paul Jabara's "DANCE". They would go on to work with Paul Jabara on their "SUCCESS" album. (The 1978 self-titled debut "Paradise Express" album is now finally available on cd, as well as the second Paradise Express album "LET'S FLY" from 1979- from the infamous Russian Disco Club person on e*bay. Martha & Izora do not appear on the second album).
The two women continued to sing backup on Sylvester's fourth LP "STEP II" in 1978. The LP's "SYLVESTER" and "STEP II" are both available on 1 cd put out by ACE Records/South Bound Label (1993 London).

4. 1979- Their popularity had grown so much they had their own fan base, thanx to the Sylvester concerts in which they were allowed to shine in solos. Check out Sylvester's "LIVING PROOF" (1979) cd, to hear these 2 women unleash their powerful voices live.

5. 1980- Fantasy Records quickly realized what they had and offered the duo their own recording contract. They released their debut LP "TWO TONS O' FUN" on the Fantasy subsidary label Honey Bee. This debut spawned 4
hit singles, "JUST US", and the 3 12" singles- "I Got The Feeling" (Patrick Cowley Megamix), "Do You Wanna Boogie, Hunh?", and "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven".

6. 1980- Because their debut sold so well, they qucikly released a second LP. The record company, to Izora & Martha's dismay, shortened their name to THE TWO TONS and called this album "BACKATCHA". They re-recorded "I BEEN DOWN", this time adding Jeanie Tracy. (Both albums are available as a 2-on-1 cd called "THE TWO TONS: TWO TONS O' FUN/BACKATCHA"- released by the ACE Records/South Bound Label (1993 London). Fantasy records also released their own compilation cd on these two women and called it "TWO TONS: MARTHA WASH & IZORA ARMSTEAD - GET THE FEELING". It has 11 tracks, 3 of which are the original full-length 12" single versions: "I GOT THE FEELING" (Patrick Cowley Megamix), "DO YOU WANNA BOOGIE, HUNH?" (Buddy Brundo Remix), and "EARTH CAN BE JUST LIKE HEAVEN" (Robbie Leslie Remix). Definitely worth getting these two cd's if you want the complete collection).

7. 1982- Paul Jabara & Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman Show) wrote a song called "IT'S RAINING MEN" and presented it to Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, etc., and they all turned it down. So Paul Jabara offered it to the duo. It was Izora's idea to call themselves THE WEATHER GIRLS, and she patented it so that there would not be another name change by the record company- she learned her lesson from their experience on Honey Bee label. They signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and released the infamous 12" single of "IT'S RAINING MEN" and the rest is herstory.

8. 1983- Paul Jabara released an album called "PAUL JABARA & FRIENDS" and it featured The Weather Girls on 3 songs- "IT'S RAINING MEN", "HOPE", and a song called "LADIE'S HOTLINE" (written by Paul Jabara & Diana Ross).
(The 12" version of "LADIES HOTLINE" is available on the 2004 Weather Girls compilation cd called "HALLELUJAH! IT'S RAINING MEN & OTHER GEMS").
The "PAUL JABARA & FRIENDS" album also featured a new up and coming
singer named Whitney Houston (this was her third song she recorded up to that time). The same year, 1983, The Weather Girls released their debut album (3rd LP technically)- called "SUCCESS". (Available on cd).

9. 1985- The Weather Girls released their next album (4th LP)- "BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY", which is still not available on cd. In 1985, the two Girls also sang backup for Bob Seger on his hit "LIKE A ROCK", as well as on "Tightrope", and on Debbie Jacobs-Rock hit "FOREVER". Martha provided backup vocals for different artists, including Narada Michael Walden on his 1985 album THE NATURE OF THINGS. Also in 1985 their old label Fantasy Records cashed in on their renewed fame by releasing an album (their fifth) called "MEGATONAGE: THE BEST OF THE TWO TONS (AKA THE WEATHER GIRLS)". It featured 7 tracks from their 2 Fantasy LP's and an 8th track, their latest hit- "IT'S RAINING MEN". This Lp was never released onto cd.

10. 1986- Martha had a solo song on the GUNG HO Soundtrack, called
"BREAKIN' THE ICE". This soundtrack is still not available on cd.

11. 1988- The Weather Girls released their sixth and last album as a duo- "THE WEATHER GIRLS". It featured 3 songs by FULL FORCE. They toured to promote the album, but then parted ways to each pursue a solo career. This cd shows up on e*bay at least twice a year for sale, coming either from Netherlands or Germany.

12. 1988- December 16th, Sylvester passed away in San Francisco.

13. 1989- Martha is hired by Clivilles & Cole to sing lead vocals on SEDUCTION's song "(YOU'RE MY ONE & ONLY) TRUE LOVE", but is denied credit. It is now almost impossible to find the original Seduction cassette single of this song, but if you do find it, you'll get about 3 versions of the song and one of the versions has Martha rapping on it- which I believe is the only time Martha has rapped on record?! :) The 12" single for "(You're My One And Only) True Love" has a rap verion but it is by Freedom Williams who would go on to sing on the C&C Music Factory debut cd).

14. 1990- A big year for Martha. She provided vocals for C&C MUSIC FACTORY's debut album "GONNA MAKE YOU SWEAT". However, she didn't receive credit again. She also provided lead vocals for BLACK BOX's debut album "DREAMLAND", and again didn't receive credit. Loleatta Holloway was asked to sing on the first single "Ride On Time", and then when the album was put together she was asked to sing on more songs, but the pay wasn't enough, so Loleatta told her friend Martha Wash about the deal and Martha took less money and recorded 6 tracks for the album. Die hard fans consider the "DREAMLAND" cd her solo album, because she sang lead on 6 of the 9 songs.

15. 1991- Izora attempted a solo career by releasing her only solo 12" single "DON'T LET LOVE SLIP AWAY" (on the I'nd Label, and not available
on cd). Martha sang a duet with Luther Vandross, a remake of the 1970
hit for Tom Jones called- "I (Who Have Nothing)". Sylvester
recorded a disco version of this song in 1979 and Martha sang backup
on that.

16. 1992- Martha released her solo self-titled debut album, which contained 2 solo versions of the TWO TONS O' FUN hit "JUST US", I assume it is a nod to her legion of longtime fans. Todd Terry worked on 3 of the songs and it's subsequent singles.

17. 1993- With the rights to the name The Weather Girls, Izora paired up with her daughter Dynelle (Izora also has 6 sons), moved to Germany, and they released their debut album "DOUBLE TON'S OF FUN". They recorded their own version of "IT'S RAINING MEN" (aka "It's Raining Men '93"). Izora opened her own restaurant in Germany called THE WEATHER GIRLS SOUL FOOD KITCHEN.

18. 1993- The group CHOCOLATE released their own version of "IT'S RAINING MEN" featuring THE WEATHER GIRLS on vocals.

19. 1993- A remix of "Got The Feeling" was released by Tim Benjamin
and MC Bones. It is available as a cd single, but also appears on the XYZ version of The Best Of The Two Tons Of Fun 1993 cd (the cover has a red square outline).

20. 1994- C&C Music Factory released their second album "ANYTHING GOES". This time Martha is credited for singing on a couple songs. Martha also
had a song on the soundtrack "D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS"- a remake of the 1971 Jean Knight hit "MR. BIG STUFF".

21. 1995- Izora and Dynelle released their second album as The Weather Girls called- "THINK BIG". One track, "STAR", featured Jimmy Somerville (Bronski Beat, The Communards), and it's a remake of the 1979 Sylvester song. To hear Izora & Jimmy sing this song brought back memories of Sylvester and Izora for the fans.
Also in 1995, Martha appeared on Todd Terry's "A DAY IN THE LIFE" cd singing
"Clear Away The Past (Honey Free At Last)". Todd Terry later put out "UNRELEASED PROJECT 7" cd and on it are also 2 versions of the song "Clear Away The Past (Honey Free At Last)".

22. 1996- Martha had a song on the soundtrack "FIRST WIVES CLUB"- an Elton John remake called "I'M STILL STANDING". Obviously,
this is an anthem song for Martha.

23. 1997- Todd Terry released his album "TODD TERRY PRESENTS READY FOR A NEW DAY". It featured Martha & Jocelyn Brown dueting on "SOMETHING GOIN' ON", "KEEP ON JUMPIN'", and Martha soloing on "READY FOR A NEW DAY".

24. 1997- Lambda released their 12" single "HOLD ON TIGHT"- featuring Martha's vocals. This makes it the fourth time she is denied credit for her work. A year later Jason Nivens re-released this song as a cd-single
with remixes and gave Martha the credit she deserved- THEN Lambda re-released this song on about 3 or 4 different cd singles and gave Martha credit also.
Martha had a song on the soundtrack "KISS ME GUIDO"- called "MAGIC CHARMS".

25. 1998- Martha released her greatest hits called "THE COLLECTION". It featured yet another version of "IT'S RAINING MEN"- this time it's a duet with RU Paul.

26. 1998- Izora and Dynelle released their third album as The Weather Girls-called "PUTTIN' ON THE HITS". It featured Dennis Edwards, ex-lead singer of The Temptations singing on the track "DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER", which was a hit for him in 1984. To hear Izora and Dennis sing together was so wonderful, so old-skool. "PUTTIN' ON THE HITS" contains some great disco remakes like "CARWASH", "PICK UP THE PIECES", "AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN", etc.

27. 1998- Remixes of "Do You Wanna Boogie?" were released by Masters At Work- the following 2 versions appear on the 3-cd set called "Mad Styles & Crazy Visions": Edit Version and ReEdit Version. The Dub Version is available on the 12" single.

28. 1999- Izora and Dynelle as The Weather Girls released the single "BIG BROWN GIRL".

29. 2000- Small Voices Calling released the single "LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE" featuring Martha. Also in 2008, Danny Krivit released the Mr. K ReEdit
12" single of "JUST US"- which is 7 minutes long! Finally a 12" of this song!

30. 2001- Charlene Moore released a gospel cd called- "As You Are I Must Be".
There are 2 versions of the song "Stealing Your Joy"- the original appears on this album along with the remix- Martha appears only on the remix version- she shares lead with Charlene- "Stealing Your Joy (Urban Remix)"- 4:49.

31. 2002- The Disco Brothers released the single "GET UP" featuring (Izora and Dynelle) The Weather Girls. The Weather Girls also released their own single "YOUR LOVE" from their upcoming album- The song is released as a 12" single with Wackside. There are cd-singles of this song somewhere out there, I got mine from a seller in France. It sounds as if the 2 voices are Dynelle Rhodes and Ingrid Arthur (Izora's step-daughter who replaced Izora)- so it seems that Izora may have become ill around this time.

32. 2003- The Weather Girls appeared on a german television show called
COMEBACK UNITED and on that show Dynelle paired up with Limahl (ex-lead
singer of 80's group Kaja Goo-Goo - "Too Shy", and later released his
biggest solo hit "NEVERENDING STORY" from the children's movie of the same name). The two sang the duet "DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART" (old song by Elton John and KiKi Dee, then later by Elton John and RU Paul). This track is available on the rare, hard to find import 2-cd set called "THE BEST OF COMEBACK UNITED" released in 2004. Dynelle doesn't quite shine in this duet, but if you are a big fan of Weather Girls, then this track is essential in completing your collection.

33. 2004- September 16th, Izora passed away in a California hospital after experiencing health problems- Dynelle paired up with her step-sister Ingrid Arthur and they decided to be the third incarnation of The Weather Girls- the album was released as "TOTALLY WILD" along with the second single "WILD THING" ("YOUR LOVE" was actually the first single). Also in 2004, Martha appeared on the television special "GET DOWN TONIGHT: THE DISCO EXPLOSION LIVE". It was released onto dvd and cd and contains her solo version of "IT'S RAINING MEN". Martha also started her own record label called PURPLE ROSE RECORDS with plans of releasing her own cd's.

34. 2005- Martha's new record label released it's first cd single-
a song called "YOU LIFT ME UP", which is a gospel flavored/club song.
She continued to work on her new full length cd (as of today's date
05/28/2011, it is still not released).

35. 2006- On the REV. YVETTE FLUNDER cd called "WE WON'T BE SILENT
ANYMORE", Martha sang a solo on the song "HE'LL UNDERSTAND AND SAY WELL
DONE"(track #9)- Sylvester covered this song on his 1983 album "CALL ME".

36. 2007- Not sure what else she did in 2007, but I did come across this cd: "TONY MORAN- EVENT" a 2-cd collection of club songs.
Martha sings "KEEP YOUR BODY WORKIN'"- a remake of the
1979 song by the disco group KLEEER. There is a cd single with 10 remixes of this song somewhere out there.

37. 2008- Ralph Falcon released his huge club hit "BREAK YOU" which spent one week at #1 on the American dance chart- the song featured the Weather Girls (Dynelle & Ingrid) and it is Dynelle who really shines, especially on the original version (9:03). Listen to her belt it out and you'll know why europeans called her Little Izora. There are at least 3 different remix collections of this song, but the 'original version'- 9:03, is the best one to hear Dynelle deliver! The song is from his 2-cd set called "Hollywood To Hialeah". The Weather Girls are featured on 3 songs:
"LOW RIDIN'"(which begs for a remix), "BREAK YOU" (this album version is very slow, best for you to get a cd single of this song and listen to 'original version'- 9:03), and "KJZZZ" (which also begs for a remix). These 3 album tracks sound very raw and not quite finished. I'm not familiar with Ralph Falcon, perhaps this was his intention/style?

Here's hoping that Martha releases a full-length cd soon because it's a shame to have one of the best female singers around not releasing material for her huge legion of fans! :) According to her website she is still working on completing her third solo album and is even asking fans to submit their original songs for consideration- she states on her website she is set to tour in 2010.
Take a moment and visit her website: w3.martha-wash dot com.

38. 2009- The Weather Girls (Dynelle & Ingrid)- "The Woman I Am" cd.
This is the official 7th Weather Girls album to date (SUCCESS/BIG GIRLS
DON'T CRY/THE WEATHER GIRLS/DOUBLE TONS O' FUN/THINK BIG!/PUTTIN' ON THE
HITS/TOTALLY WILD!/THE WOMAN I AM). A great collection of songs and they do
a remake of "JUST US" along with a remix version of this song on this cd-
called "The Urban Remix". Nice to see them still going strong! Ingrid
(Arthur) has released a solo album of gospel songs, which is available
by contacting her at her email: [...], and she will
tell you where to send your money order to.

The album "BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY" itself is not available on cd, but almost all the songs (except MARCH) are available on the 3 different "BEST OF" cd's out there.

Why are we so obsessed today with packaging and with image? Why is so much that we listen to so electronically engineered that it's impact is transitory? Why are we now, apparently, so drawn to voices and personalities that are superficially pleasing but possess little in terms of talent and authenticity?

Listen to It's Raining Men in its original version on the Weather Girls' Success album and you will know exactly what I'm talking about. These women are, quite simply, powerhouses of talent.

I have heard this CD and have heard MS. Martha Wash in cocert and feel this is the best music of the 80's. I think everyone should bring back the 80's by listening to this groups music. I have met Ms. Martha Wash and i told her what i felt, Her music IS the best of the 80's and now.

This 1983 album was produced by Paul Jabara. It contains two massive Hi-NRG hits in the form of It's Raining Men and I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.

The album opens with the vibrant track Success where the two contrasting voices of the girls come over most distinctly. Hungry For Love is a funky mid-tempo song, whilst Dear Santa starts out as a slow Christmas ballad with soulful vocals before the fast Hi-NRG beat kicks in.

Hope is an uplifting song with some impressive vocals. The real appeal of the album lies however in the closing tracks It's Raining Men, a camp classic with a pulsating beat and I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, a festive number with a catchy tune and foot tapping rhythms. Fans of 1980s dance music will love this album.

I Got the Feeling/Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven

Sylvester - Greatest Hits

Loved it, funny and great to dance to. I always loved this group when they were named 2 Tons of Fun. Love their voices especially Martha Wash. She could have
had a music career in Opera. Ms. K