Izora Margaret Rhodes-Armstead (July 6, 1942 – September 16, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter. Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved fame as one half of the successful act Two Tons O' Fun who sang backup vocals for American disco singer Sylvester. After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number 2 in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought the duo to mainstream pop attention. As a duo, The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums. After The Weather Girls disbanded in 1988, Armstead released a single, "Don't Let Love Slip Away" (1991). In 1991, she reformed The Weather Girls with her daughter Dynelle Rhodes, who had been one of the duo's background singers. Over the course of a decade, they released three albums: Double Tons of Fun (1993), Think Big! (1995), and Puttin' On The Hits (1999). On September 16, 2004, Armstead died from heart failure in San Leandro, California. Early life Izora M. Rhodes was born on July 6, 1942, in Houston, Texas. She moved to San Francisco, California with her family when she was a child. At the young age of four, she began playing piano and later began singing at age eight. Rhodes eventually became the lead vocalist and pianist of San Francisco Inspirational Choir. Rhodes studied classical music at San Francisco Conservatory. She modeled herself after her favorite singers Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward. By 1975, Rhodes had a total of seven children, six boys and a girl, that she raised as a single parent. To support her children, Rhodes worked as a bartender and a nurse assistant. In addition, Rhodes also worked as a piano and vocal teacher. In 1976, Rhodes married a new husband and changed her last name to Armstead. According to the autobiography book The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco written by Joshua Gamson, she had a total of eleven children (four of which are allegedly step-children) with then-new husband [Armstead]. Now Izora Armstead, she eventually landed in a short-lived gospel group called N.O.W. (News of the World), which would include neighborhood friend Martha Wash. Career 1976–1981: Sylvester and Two Tons O' Fun In February 1976, friend Martha Wash auditioned as a