Martha Wash

Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer.

Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)".

After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts.

In February 1976, Wash auditioned as a backup singer before a 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 an interview with Daily Xtra!, Wash stated that working alongside Sylvester helped her hone her own vocal stylings.

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 prominently featured The Tons, peaked at number one on Billboard Dance chart and became their first number-one single on that chart.

In 1979, Two Tons O' Fun sang on Sylvester's live album Living Proof, including showstopping solos from both Wash and Rhodes on the track “You Are My Friend”.

Later that year, the duo secured their own record deal with Fantasy Records.

Starting in the late-1980s, her studio vocals were used in several successful dance songs without her permission or proper credit.

Models lip-synched to her voice in music videos and during live performances, obscuring Wash's contributions and hiding Wash's size as a full-figured woman.

As a result, she was denied credit and royalties for many of the songs she recorded.

This included multi platinum-selling song "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".

Subsequently, in Rolling Stone, music critic Jason Newman described Martha Wash as "The Most Famous Unknown Singer of the '90s".

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 72 on the Dance chart.

The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought them to mainstream pop attention.

The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily 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 46 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.

In 1985, the Weather Girls released their fourth album Big Girls Don't Cry.

In 1986, Wash released a solo song, "Breakin' The Ice", on the soundtrack for the Paramount feature film Gung Ho.

After disbanding in 1988, Wash transitioned to house music as a featured artist on several successful songs.

Her success on the Billboard dance chart has earned her the honorific title The Queen of Clubland, with a total of fifteen number-one songs on the chart to date.

Wash is also noted for sparking legislation in the early 1990s that made vocal credits mandatory on CDs and music videos.

In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 58th most successful dance artist of all time.

Wash attended in McKinley Elementary and graduated from San Francisco Polytechnic High School, where she sang in the school choir.

During her time in high school, the school choir traveled and performed throughout Europe for two weeks.

Wash also appeared on four albums in the school choir.

Shortly after graduating high school, Wash joined a gospel group NOW (News of the World), which also included Izora Rhodes.

Wash also worked as a secretary for UC Hospital.