God Bless Mother Nature...and Father Time

I was having fun this evening looking at various disco songs, which I realize are not from the 80s.  There was one that I thought about posting because it was remade later, but low and behold, I ran across "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls.  I had no idea that this song was written in the 80s!  It was released in 1982, which completely shocked me.  I seem to remember it being on the radio in the 70s, but I guess I was mistaken!  It surely didn't sound like the rest of the pop tunes on the airwaves in 1982.  Nope -- this one preserved a disco feel from the previous decade.  Amazing.  I am still in shock!

Anyway, the Weather Girls were Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes.  There was a ton of controversy surrounding groups using Martha Wash's vocals in the 1990s with slim model-types lip syncing to her vocals in the videos (for the songs "Make You Sweat" by C&C Music Factory and "Strike It Up" by Black Box).  I really liked "Strike It Up," but it is sad that they used her powerful vocals and masqueraded them with the models.  Definitely a 90s way of thinking I suppose. The 70s seemed much more accepting of people's differences, and in the 80s, well, we were so busy being obsessed with space and the future and synthesizers...it all just kind of got lost.  I also found out that this song was written and produced by Paul Shaffer (from the David Letterman show) and Paul Jabara.  They supposedly offered it to Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand--who both turned it down.  I would be curious to hear Diana Ross sing it.  With all due respect to Ms. Ross's unmistakably beautiful voice, Martha Wash's voice had a very different element of power and beauty.  She was perfect for this.  I say was, because, sadly, she passed away in 2004.  God bless Mother Nature for gracing us with Ms. Wash's voice (and Ms. Rhodes' as well).  This is a terrific song, and you have to love the funny religious exclamations in it that are are just so fitting..."It's raining men!  Hallelujah!  It's raining men...Amen!"  God bless Mother Nature indeed.