The Weather Girls

The Weather Girls
Martha Wash (left) and Izora Armstead c. 1980
Background information
Also known as	Two Tons O' Fun The Two Tons
Origin	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Hi-NRG[1] disco pop[2] soul[3]
Years active	1976–1988, 1991–present
Labels	Columbia Fantasy Records Carrillo Music
Members	Dynelle Rhodes Dorrey Lin Lyles
Past members	Izora Armstead Martha Wash Ingrid Arthur
Website	theweathergirlsmusic.com

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, Wash and Armstead began their musical careers as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After several years of singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records as Two Tons O' Fun. The duo changed their name to The Weather Girls and were launched into somewhat more mainstream recognition following the release of the single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one song on the US Dance Chart and their biggest hit. Despite having several hit songs on the Dance Chart as Two Tons O' Fun and The Weather Girls, the duo never achieved a top 40 hit on the main US Hot 100 and ultimately disbanded in 1988 after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls.

In 1991, Armstead reformed the duo with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes. Over the course of a decade, the Armstead and Rhodes released three albums: Double Tons of Fun (1993), Think Big!, and Puttin' On the Hits (1999). In 2004, Armstead died due to heart failure and was replaced with singer Ingrid Arthur in 2005. Following the release of two albums Totally Wild! (2005) and The Woman I Am (2009), Arthur left the group and was replaced with singer Dorrey Lin Lyles in 2012.

As the Weather Girls with Martha Wash and Izora Armstead, the duo received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1983.^[4]