backup singer before American 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 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 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 background on Sylvester's live album Living Proof. Later that year, the duo secured their own record deal with Fantasy Records. 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 seventy-two on the Dance chart. 1982–1988: The Weather Girls 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 forty-six 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 1988, The Weather Girls released their self-titled fourth album The Weather Girls, the final album featuring Armstead and Wash. Shortly after the release of the album, The Weather Girls were dropped from Columbia and soon disbanded to pursue solo careers. 1989–1991: Solo career Following the disbandment of The Weather Girls, Armstead pursued a brief solo career. She began touring