The Weather Girls Write Santa on My 2015 Christmas Countdown

"This is an open letter to Mr. Santa Claus!"

The Weather Girls -- Martha Wash and Izora Whitehead -- started as Sylvester's back-up girls known as Two Tons o' Fun. They became The Weather Girls when they recorded "It's Raining Men" for my friend Bob Esty and the late Paul Jabara, who.

Here, they want a man for Christmas. So enjoy, disco around the tree and let it snow!

Oh, and Santa's voice is actually that of Paul Schaffer's, who co-wrote the song.

Revisting The Weather Girls' "Success"

"Success! What does it mean/ When you can't find the right Marine?"  The Weather Girls' "Success" is one of the most camp, fabulously theatrical, deliciously over-the-top and cleverly tongue-in-cheek disco songs ever recorded. It's the opening number for the classic album of the same name, recently re-mastered and re-released, on cd, on the UK's Cherry Pop label. (They also recently reissued albums by Viola Wills and Divine, among other classic dance-music artists, as well.)

Martha Wash and Izora Armstead were first known as Two Tons o' Fun when they were Sylvester's back-up girls, starting in 1977, prominently featured in "Dance (Disco Heat)". They went on, under that group name, to have their own club hits with "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" and "I Got the Feeling."

In 1982, they had a smash international pop and club hit with "It's Raining Men." The success of that single led to the album, Success. Other songs on it included the food = love tune, "Hungry for Love" (Oh, admit it! You've been there!); the gospel-influenced "Hope" (the only song on the album with a straight face, so to speak); the Christmas classic, "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man for Christmas)" and the cleverly disco-fied "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical, South Pacific. I wonder what Mary Martin and Mitzi Gaynor thought of that! (Ironically,  Dj Buddy B kissed both Martha Wash and Mitzi: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-kissed-mitzi-gaynor.html
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/08/martha-wash-at-bb-kings-nyc.html ).

All other songs on Success written by Bob Esty, Paul Jabara and/or Paul Shaffer.

The Cherry Pop release includes multiple bonus tracks. The 12" Larger Than Life remix of "Success" is too tame in my opinion, stripping the original production of its brassy bravado. 12'" version and instrumental version of "Raining Men," 12" of "Outta My Hair," instrumental of both "Santa" and "Raining Men" and a mix of the last mentioned two songs complete the selection of this collection.

In my recent interview with Bob Esty (in four parts), he talks about the making of Success and The Weather Girls, and more. Don't miss this revealing interview via this link: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/06/bob-esty-part-3-martha-wash-and-raquel.html

Video of The Weather Girls performing "Success" at The Hippodrome:

Results: the Bob Esty Poll!

The Bob Esty poll on this blog has just closed and here are the results!

Cher's "Take Me Home" is the winner by one vote (16 total votes), just edging out Barbra's "The Main Event" (15 votes). There were 26 participants on the poll in all, and it was possible to vote for more than one song.

Donna Summer's "Last Dance" came in third place with 11 votes tallied. 

Cher's roller-disco classic, "Hell on Wheels," was tied with The Weather Girl's "It's Raining Men" at 10 votes each. D.C. LaRue's disco classic "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" follows with 7 votes cast.

Raquel Welch's camp classic, "This Girl's Back in Town" received 6 votes while the late Andy Williams' "Love Story" theme (disco version) was favored with 5 votes. Ava Cherry's "Streetcar Named Desire" garnished 4 votes.

Thanks to everyone who voted, and to Bob Esty! Bob Esty Month continues, meanwhile, on this blog through April until Bob's birthday (April 20)! Stay tuned!

Blog Poll Results: Best Disco Song Ever!

Gloria Gaynor

My poll is closed, the results are in. You were asked to "VOTE for your favorite all-time disco song from the... modest list of classic disco songs." You could vote for more than one song.

The winner from that list is: "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, with 13 votes! She has certainly survived with that international hit that almost everyone in the world knows by heart. And she is still going strong; a diva to be reckoned with.
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/11/presenting-ms-gloria-gaynor.html

But The Weather Girls came in with a close #2, belting out "It's Raining Men" and collecting 12 votes. That song recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, notably on the David Letterman show. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/10/martha-wash-on-david-letterman.html

Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You (I Don't Want Nobody, Baby)" from the movie, Saturday Night Fever, was #3, with 9 votes. Sylvester's "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real" garnered 8 votes, while Donna Summer's "I Fee Love" received seven. And Cher came in with 6 votes cast for "Take Me Home." It should be noted, however, that the Bob Esty/Michele Aller song was the winner of my Cher poll last month, and you'll note a comment on the link from the esteemed Mr Esty himself. Dj Buddy B was thrilled and humbled by it! http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/11/sharing-cher-results-on-dj-buddy.html

"I Love the Nightlife," by the divine Alicia Bridges, is a perennial disco fave that has been featured in major motion pictures and remixed over the ensuing decades, oddly enough receiving only 6 votes by participants in this poll.

Five songs came in with four votes each: Vicki Sue Robinson's classic "Turn the Beat Around," "Born to Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez, "Cherchez la Femme" by Dr Buzzard's Savannah Band, Love Unlimited's "Under the Influence of Love" and Pamala Stanley's floor-filler, "Coming Out of Hiding."

Kelly Marie's "Feels Like I'm in Love" gathered 3 votes and "I Need a Man," by Grace Jones,  received two. All the nominees were winners to my mind as they remain iconic tunes from the classic disco era that moved us to the dancefloor and, sometimes, emotionally as well. They are a part of our history, popular culture and musical legacy.

Thirty-six people participated in voting. Thanks to all! A new poll will be posted on New Year's Eve and we begin anew!  Love to all ~~ Dj Buddy Beaverhausen

The Five Most Fabulous Men Under My Christmas Tree

The Rockerfeller Center tree is up and New York City is aglow with more lights than usual because it's holiday season. Such a happy time of year but equally tragic when all the lights and decorations are taken down shortly after the new year.  I am currently reminded, however, that as tomorrow is December 1st, it's time to compose my Christmas list for that hunky Mr Santa Claus, envisioned by moi as seen above. Love the sparklers, and I hear he's got a big roman candle to boot!

As for presenting dear Santa with my Christmas list, I so so so want the Joan Crawford and Mommie Dearest wallets from Rainbows & Triangles in Chelsea (pictured amongst the collection at right). But, modestly priced, I could easily purchase them myself; no need to bother Mr Claus.

There's the pricey little leopard-skin print Christopher Radko-designed Cyndi Lauper Christmas ball at Bloomingdale's that would be perfect for my tree. And there's the sexy John Varvados scarf for $248 plus tax that I'm qvelling over. Of course, Santa, since you won't be staying after you've tasted my cookies and milk (busy guy that you are, going up and down my chimney), you could always leave me one of my five currently most fabulous men, tied up with a big bow on top.

Well, there's the tall, Irish-looking, redhead personal trainer (I imagine, since he's always wearing spiffy athletic gear to work with no apparent change of outfit) with the humungous sneakers. And there's the Slavic guy with chiseled features, stubble and sexy dark eyes who always wears fatigues and a trendy scarf this time of year. I usually see at least one of these hotties on my morning commute. Unfortunately, I can't Google their images for the prurient interest of my gentle readers. But, Santa, you know who I mean and should add them as Fabulous Men numbers 6 and 7, thank you.

But now, I turn to more well-known men to comprise the Top 5 on my Christmas List:

#1: Channing Tatum.

'Nuff said.

#2: Zeb Atlas. I may have spoken ill about his ability as a disco divo http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/09/zeb-atlas-in-discoworld.html
but that doesn't mean I'd kick the big lug out of bed, Santa!

#3: Daniel Craig. 007? Yes. Stirred, not shaken. Is that a pistol in his pocket or is he just happy it's Christmas? He could make the earth move under my sheet... and the sky fall! Good to see him back in action (on the big screen, I mean) with buns as hard as steel. Surly, scruffy British guys are my weakness. Well, one of my weaknesses!

#4: Cheyenne Jackson.

I really don't have to explain him, do I?

#5: Ricky Martin. He looks better with age and even sexier since coming out.

Hot stuff for cold weather.

So, if anyone reading this wants to be my secret Santa and send me one (or more) of these five Fabulous Men, please feel free in the crazy spirit of the season. Any of the above would be the gift that keeps on giving. Hopefully! Please include a magnum of quality champagne and flutes (glass, not plastic). Otherwise, the John Varvados scarf and Radko Christmas ornament will do nicely.

Merry Christmas. I love you, Santa!

In conclusion, I'll turn things over to The Weather Girls in their 1983 video:

I Kissed a Weather Girl: Martha Wash at B.B. King's NYC

Martha Wash has had an incredible career in dance music. She was a Weather Girl along with the late Izora Whitehead and, before that, the duo known as Two Tons o' Fun, originally the back-up vocalists for Sylvester and, then, an independent disco act ("Disco Heat", "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven").

Martha was also the lead vocalist for C&C
Music Factory ("Gonna Make You Sweat") and Italy's Black Box ("Everybody Everybody"). Our girl has been around, and she's done plenty of solo work, too ("Carry On," "Lift Me Up," "Keep Your Body Working"), all of which charted well with club-goers, and especially her gay fans.

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Ms Wash perform a full, 90-minute set (with no opening act) at B B King's in Times Square. Previously, I'd seen her onstage strictly at dance clubs, where the format only permitted her to do short sets to taped musical tracks. So this concert, with a marvelous live band and back-up chorus, was indeed the treat of a lifetime for me.

Front tables and seats were removed to make space for a dance floor because, when Martha Wash belts out disco hits galore in that amazing voice of hers, there's no way you can stay seated. "I want to see you dance your asses off," the diva insisted, and audience members took heed, turning that bastion of rock'n'roll into a 42nd Street discotheque west of X/L.

The Beaver gets down

"I just want to see movement! Just you dancing!" That was what Martha requested and, in the picture to the right, yours truly, Dj Buddy Beaverhausen throws his hands up in the air as he discos down to Martha live.

In a black top that sparkled with shimmery colors, and plain black slacks, our ex-Weather Girl was looking good and sounding phenomenal. In her pure, powerful and resonant voice, she opened with "Strike It Up," then belted out "Everybody Everybody." Ms Wash successfully sued Black Box's Italo-House producers "to receive proper credit, and appropriate royalties, as the vocalist on all of these songs. Wash's courtroom efforts spurred legislation making vocal credits mandatory on Compact Discs and music videos," states Wikipedia. Obviously, no hard feelings at this point, Ms Wash obviously happy to claim these songs, rightfully, as her own.

"I'm just a working woman," the diva stated, far too modestly in my opinion. "And this is my job." She promoted an upcoming album (release date and further info unclear at this point), singing three dance tunes from it (including the outstanding "My Time"); sang her solo hits, "Catch the Light," "Listen to the People" and the anthemic "Carry On" with great inspiration and conviction; performed her huge smash with C&C Music Factory, "Gonna Make You Sweat;" and finished the set with the classic "Keep on Jumpin'," which she originally recorded with Todd Terry and Jocelyn Brown.

Ms Wash described her demographic audience of party people as "chronologically advanced." Looking around the room, that seemed to be generally true; a sea of faces 40 and over. But it was also an enthusiastic and energetic crowd, many of whom were certainly not too old to boogie on down and who were in amazingly good shape to boot. Let's not write off our disco dinosaurs as of yet!

Of course, the international dance-music star returned for an encore after the audience was cued by her musical director to shout out: "Martha! Martha! Martha!" That invocation brought the diva back onstage to do "It's Raining Men," her #1 Weather Girls dancefloor and radio hit from 1982, written by Paul Jabara and Paul Schaffer.

It was a pleasure to get to meet Martha Wash briefly after the show, though we may understandably have taxed her patience due to an iPhone camera malfunction while my lips were stuck to her cheek for the photo op, perhaps a bit too long for comfort. Two tons of annoyance? I hope not. Martha yelled out to my friend with the camera, in true diva fashion: "werq it!" I'm sure she was just kidding. But the kiss was captured.

Love huh!

 

Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)

The Weather Girls were originally known as Two Tons of Fun. Under that name, they began as Sylvester's back-up girls, then went solo with disco hits of their own: "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" (1980); "Just Us" (1980 and also made #29 on the US R&B chart); and the Hi-NRG song "I Got the Feeling" in 1981.

The Weather Girls was composed of Martha Wash (whose solo career continues till this day) and the late, great Izora Whitehead.

A holiday follow-up to the phenomenal, "It's Raining Men," "Dear Santa" was also written by Paul Jabara ("Last Dance" by Donna Summer) and Paul Shaffer (who makes a cameo vocal as Santa in this song).

The video for this number was made in 1983 and, obviously, on a shoestring budget. Hence, the hilarious dancers with big, feathered '80s hair. Martha and Izora may have been hard to fit, but their costumes herein look off-the-rack from some bargain store; rather threadbare-looking pantsuits with scarves. Ick!

You may suffer through a brief ad before the video, but it'll be worth it. Also, it's a busy-looking Youtube page, so I recommend enlarging the video window on your screens.

Season's greetings! And roll out the bear-skin rugs by your fireplaces cuz Santa may have a man in his sack for you, too!