1982Released
5:25

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about It's Raining Men. By Songfacts®.

The Weather Girls were the duo of Martha Wash and Izora Armstead, who stood out from other disco divas because of their voices and their size. Both honed their singing in church and developed remarkably powerful voices. They were overweight and looked nothing like most other popular female singers (especially Diana Ross!), but that didn't deter the singer/producer Sylvester, who hired them to sing on his recordings, including the 1978 hit "Dance (Disco Heat)," which was released on Fantasy Records and made #19 in the US. Soon after, Armstead and Wash got their own deal with Fantasy and recorded as Two Tons O' Fun, scoring a few R&B hits before recording "It's Raining Men," prompting them to change the name of their act to The Weather Girls so it would suit the song. Wash sang on many projects over the next several years, including songs by the groups C&C Music Factory ("Make You Sweat") and Black Box ("Strike It Up," "Everybody Everybody"). She was often uncredited and replaced in videos by models lip-synching her lines. She eventually sued for royalties and released a solo album under her own name. Armstead, who had more of a growl to her voice, died in 2004.

This song was specifically directed to the gay community and was quickly embraced in gay dance clubs. Like "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People, it became a gay anthem and later, a mainstream hit. Even though the song was sung from the perspective of women, it objectified men in a way that was rarely heard in popular music. This message was not lost on gay listeners who heard it as a celebration of their culture.

This song was written by Paul Shaffer and Paul Jabara. Shaffer is David Letterman's bandleader; Jabara wrote "Last Dance" and "No More Tears" for Donna Summer. Jabara came up with the idea for the song (including the title) and asked Shaffer to work on it with him, which Shaffer was thrilled to do. When they completed a demo of the song, Jabara offered it to Summer, but she hated it. Deeply religious, she was especially turned off by the line, "It's raining men, hallelujah," which according to Shaffer, she found blasphemous. Jabara pitched it to Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross, but both turned it down. He then played it for Wash and Armstead, who were still recording as Two Tons O' Fun, and while Wash initially resisted, the duo agreed to record it. It was a huge hit for The Weather Girls, who followed up with another rain-themed song, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," but never had another Top 40 hit. The duo split in the late '80s, but in 1992 Izora Armstead revived the act with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes taking over for Wash.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of It's Raining Men.
C♯Key
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
137BPM

Album

The album It's Raining Men is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released It's Raining Men.
Entertainment Co./Columbia
1982, 1983 CBS Inc.

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