Peak
46
Weeks
11
Score
726
Chart Year
1983
The music video for "It's Raining Men", released in the winter of 1982, was directed by Gary Keys and filmed in an abandoned building in New York City.[30] Due to limited support from Columbia Records, "It's Raining Men" was a low-budget video. Wash described the video's conception: "God, that was a cheesy video! We filmed it in an abandoned building [in NYC] in the dead of winter. There was no heat and everybody was wearing [winter] coats. That part in the video where we fall out of the sky, well, we landed on these mattresses and found out [the next day] they were infested with bugs. For days afterwards Izora and I were scratching [ourselves]! It was awful!"[
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. Speaking about what makes this song work in an episode of the TV series Unsung, the song's co-writer Paul Shaffer said: "It was the craziness of the concept combined with the serious conviction of Martha Wash's delivery." Geri Halliwell, formerly a member of the Spice Girls, recorded this in 2001. Her version was used on the soundtrack to the movie Bridget Jones's Diary. When released, the single shot straight to #1 for 2 weeks. This was Halliwell's fourth #1 single in a row, and it made her the British female artist with the most #1 singles (11 in total: seven with the Spice Girls and four of her own). Halliwell's version was her fifth single. Her new ultra-thin image in the video caused a field day for the press, who came up with all sorts of ways she had achieved this - some included her reported bulimia. >> The video, which was directed by Gary Keys, was a low budget affair but very memorable, with lots of buff guys wearing raincoats. It didn't get played on MTV (more evidence that they resisted songs by black artists), but was very popular in Europe and has attracted millions of views on YouTube. The video was not a pleasant experience for Martha Wash, who recalls falling onto mattresses during the shoot that were infested with bugs. This was used on the Friends episode "The One With Chandler's Dad" (2001) when Chandler and Monica went to Las Vegas to see Chandler's dad (Kathleen Turner) to tell him they were getting married. Not long after they met him he sang this on stage. It was also used on two episodes of Schitt's Creek in 2016: In "Jazzagals," Jocelyn's singing group rehearses the tune, and in "Lawn Signs," they sing it at one of their concerts. It also shows up in these TV shows: The Simpsons ("What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" - 2014) Being Erica ("Moving On Up" – 2010) Samantha Who? ("My Best Friend's Boyfriend" – 2009) Las Vegas ("Degas Away With It" – 2004) Cold Case ("It's Raining Men" – 2004) Scrubs ("My Rule Of Thumb" – 2004) The Nanny ("The Party's Over" – 1995) And in these movies: Magic Mike (2012) Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010) Duets (2000), performed by Erin Wright, Nicole Parker, and Marlaina Andre Scary Movie (2000) The song returned to the UK Top 40 in February 2014 following a social media campaign to get it back in the charts. The campaign was driven by former UKIP councillor David Silvester blaming Britain's bad weather since the turn of the year on the government's decision to legalize gay marriage. The song's American chart placing of #46 doesn't accurately reflect its popularity. It was a #1 Dance hit and endures as a club favorite. In 1998, Martha Wash recorded a follow-up to this song with the acclaimed drag queen RuPaul called "It's Raining Men... The Sequel."
Hi, hi we're your weather girls Ah-huh And have we got news for you You better listen Get ready, all you lonely girls And leave those umbrellas at home Alright Humidity is rising (uh rising), barometer's getting low (how low girl?) According to all sources (what sources now?), the street's the place to go (we better hurry up) 'Cause tonight for the first time (first time) Just about half-past ten (half past ten) For the first time in history It's gonna start raining men (start raining men) It's raining men, hallelujah, it's raining men, amen I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get Absolutely soaking wet It's raining men, hallelujah It's raining men, every specimen Tall, blonde, dark and lean Rough and tough and strong and mean God bless mother nature, she's a single woman too She took off to heaven and she did what she had to do She taught every angel, she rearranged the sky So that each and every woman could find her perfect guy Oh, it's raining men, yeah Humidity is rising (humidity is rising, yeah yeah) Barometer's getting low (it's getting low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low) According to all sources (according to all sources) The street's the place to go 'Cause tonight for the first time Just about half past ten For the first time in history It's gonna start raining man (start raining men) It's raining men, hallelujah It's raining men, amen It's raining men, hallelujah It's raining men, amen It's raining men, hallelujah It's raining men, amen It's raining men, hallelujah Oh oh oh oh It's raining men Tall, blonde, dark and lean Rough and tough and strong and mean Hallelujah it's raining men, amen
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 22, 1983 | 88 | 38 |
| 2 | Jan 29, 1983 | 78 | 48 |
| 3 | Feb 5, 1983 | 67 | 59 |
| 4 | Feb 12, 1983 | 59 | 67 |
| 5 | Feb 19, 1983 | 55 | 71 |
| 6 | Feb 26, 1983 | 50 | 76 |
| 7 | Mar 5, 1983 | 46 | 80 |
| 8 | Mar 12, 1983 | 46 | 80 |
| 9 | Mar 19, 1983 | 46 | 80 |
| 10 | Mar 26, 1983 | 86 | 40 |
| 11 | Apr 2, 1983 | 94 | 32 |