Izora Armstead

Izora Margaret Rhodes-Armstead (July 6, 1942 – September 16, 2004) was an American singer.

Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved success as one half of the duo Two Tons O' Fun, along with Martha Wash, as they sang backup for American disco singer Sylvester.

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

Rhodes eventually became the lead vocalist and pianist of San Francisco Inspirational Choir.

Rhodes studied classical music at San Francisco Conservatory.

She modeled herself after her favorite singers Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward.

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.

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 [Armstead].

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.

In February 1976, friend Martha Wash 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 Dance chart.

In 1978, Sylvester released his fourth album Step II, which also featured The Two Tons' background vocals throughout the album.

"Dance (Disco Heat)", the album's lead single which featured The Tons, peaked at number one on Billboard Dance chart and became their first number-one single on that chart.

The duo obtained their own record deal as Two Tons O'Fun in 1979.

They released three consecutive songs that were hits on the Dance 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.

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".

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.

The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after the release of their single "It's Raining Men", their most successful single.

As a duo, The Weather Girls released five albums and were also featured on Sylvester's albums.

In September 1982, the duo released their single "It's Raining Men".

The song became their biggest hit, peaking at number one on the Dance chart and number forty-six on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

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.

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 in San Leandro, California.