One of the Weather Girls died

[Senusret I]

Izora Armstead dead



NEW YORK (Billboard) - Izora Rhodes Armstead, one-half of disco/pop
acts the Weather Girls and Two Tons O' Fun, died Thursday (Sept. 16)
at San Leandro Hospital, near Oakland, Calif.

The cause was heart failure. Her age is not known.

Armstead began her career as a backup singer for disco artist
Sylvester, along with her future music partner Martha Wash. They lent
vocals to four Sylvester albums, including the 1978 Fantasy Records
set "Step II," which spawned two No. 1 Billboard club hits: "Dance
(Disco Heat)" and "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real." The former was
also a top-20 hit on the Hot 100, while the latter reached the top 40.

In 1979, Armstead and Wash left Sylvester to record as Two Tons O'
Fun. Honey/Fantasy released two albums by the duo, "Two Tons O' Fun"
(1980) and "Backatcha." The pair's debut included such now-classic
dancefloor hits as "I Got the Feeling," "Just Us," "Do You Wanna
Boogie, Hunh?" and "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven."

In the early '80s, without a label to call home, Armstead and Wash
regrouped as the Weather Girls and signed with Columbia Records.

The duo scored a global smash with "It's Raining Men," which spent
two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1982.
A follow-up single, "No One Can Love You More Than Me," was an
underground club hit. After three albums, the Weather Girls were
dropped by Columbia, and Armstead and Wash, while remaining friends,
went their separate musical ways.

Armstead moved to Frankfurt, Germany, 15 years ago. It was there that
she formed a new version of the Weather Girls with her daughter
Dynell Rhodes. In addition to nonstop touring, the mother/daughter
act recorded a handful of albums for WEA Germany, including "Double
Tons of Fun" in 1994.

Last month, Armstead returned to the Bay Area to undergo treatment for
heart-related problems. She is survived by a sister, Laversa, seven
children and several grandchildren.