Disco Diva Izora Armstead Dies

SAN LEANDRO, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Izora Rhodes Armstead, one-half of disco/pop acts the Weather Girls and Two Tons O' Fun, died September 16th in California. According to Billboard.com, the cause of death was heart failure.

Armstead and future music partner Martha Wash began their career as a back-up singer for disco artist Sylvester. The two women sang vocals on two No. 1 Billboard club hits, "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real," in 1978.

The next year Armstead and Wash left Sylvester to record as Two Tons O' Fun. They released two albums, "Two Tons O' Fun" (1980) and "Backatcha" as well as the now-classic dance floor hits "I Got the Feeling," "Just Us," "Do You Wanna Boogie, Hunh?" and "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven."

In the early '80s Armstead and Wash regrouped as the Weather Girls and signed with Columbia Records. Despite three albums and such hits as "It's Raining Men," which spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1982, and their follow up "No One Can Love You More Than Me," which was an underground club hit, the Weather Girls were dropped by Columbia and the women went their separate musical ways.

Armstead moved to Frankfurt, Germany, and formed a new version of the Weather Girls with her daughter Dynell Rhodes. The mother and daughter team did extensive touring as well as recording a handful of albums with WEA Germany. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers