It's Raining Laughter

I lifted weights at a gym today. On the second floor of the gym were treadmills. Whoever was on one of the treadmills was watching a TV, which was the only sound that was carrying throughout the entire gym. I have no idea what was on the TV, but all of a sudden, it started playing a snippet of The Weather Girls’s “It’s Raining Men.” I almost injured myself on the lat pulldown from laughing. There’s something funny about “It’s Raining Men” playing at a gym. Then again, there just might be something hilarious in general about “It’s Raining Men,” and my memory of the song.

Let’s start off with the group itself. The Weather Girls (Izora Armstead and Martha Wash) were originally known as Two Tons O’ Fun, which is probably the most inappropriate name a record label could have given them short of getting race involved in the matter. The phrase “tons of fun” would later return to some hilarity when used by the character of Jack Cole in Sideways.

After a few successful dance hits, Two Tons O’ Fun released “It’s Raining Men” under the name, The Weather Girls, and it became their biggest success. From that point on, they were The Weather Girls, though I have a feeling that connecting their group name to their most famous song only made the potential for typecasting that much higher. I’m still confused as to why their follow-up song was not “The Blizzard of Hermaphrodites.”

The song and group drew popularity in the gay male community, which spread of course in how we interacted with it as teenagers. I remember a guy in high school saying, “It’s raining men” for some reason, and then another guy responding, “Are you sure you want to say that?” as if to imply now that he was gay for saying, “It’s raining men” or admitting that he liked the song. Ridiculous. Needless to say, the guy didn’t know how to respond back without worry that his heterosexuality would come into question. I guess I automatically think of that occurrence with the song because of how silly a situation it was. If you like “It’s Raining Men,” you like “It’s Raining Men.” It’s fun to dance to! Then again, I wasn’t about to put my foot down in a conversation I wasn’t even involved in. I was a teenager! I was awkward and lacking confidence on anything, particularly early 80s dance hits (trust me, I wouldn’t have even stood up for Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” at the time, and we can all say that song is awesome).

The most hilarious thing in regards to “It’s Raining Men” is its video. Enjoy the song again, and its visuals:

One Ton O’Fun Izora’s role as Mother Nature is pretty amusing. But, probably the funniest part is the random half naked dudes that come out of nowhere. Half naked dudes are now common in pop music videos. But, at the time, they were rare and that could possibly explain why most of them aren’t really in that great of shape. I like that I could have been cast in this music video. Speaking of which, how odd of a resume inclusion is that? “I’m an actor. You may remember me as the most thin and not really in shape guy in the ‘It’s Raining Men’ video. So, I think I’m perfectly qualified to play the love interest opposite Madonna in ‘Like a Prayer.’” Also, cue 3:24 in the video. If you look at the lower left corner on the mash of men surrounding Martha, you’ll see a man who could potentially be Sherman Hemsley’s evil twin.

My amusement with “It’s Raining Men” probably continues because it’s always been used in funny ways (Bridget Jones’s Diary comes to mind…the guy from high school is now really questioning my heterosexuality for referencing that in an “It’s Raining Men” post.)

To add to my odd connection to The Weather Girls, I remember watching a VH-1 show that contained information on the group, and Martha Wash discussing her lawsuit against C+C Music Factory for not providing proper credit and compensation for her vocal work on “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).” She was successful in her suit, received proper credit, and ultimately a record deal. Though, to the general public, in a match-up between The Weather Girls and C+C Music Factory, it’s possible that no one wins.

Sadly, Izora Armstead passed away in 2004. Martha Wash continues to sing. The Weather Girls still perform, but are now composed of the two daughters of Izora. Thomas Haden Church earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as Jack Cole in Sideways. The whereabouts of all half naked dudes in the “It’s Raining Men” video are unknown.