Who could ever forget the video for C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat," when Zelma Davis' cry of "everybody dance now!" set off the hottest, most danceable groove of 1990.
Except...Zelma Davis wasn't the one singing.
The uncredited singer in question was Martha Wash, one of the underappreciated goddesses of disco/dance music. Wash and Izola Armstead started out in the 1970s as backups to Sylvester on hits like "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Dance (Disco Heat)". They vaulted into unlikely stardom with "It's Raining Men," re-christening themselves The Weather Girls.
Wash eventually left the Weather Girls name to Armstead, then spent the next decade as a sought after vocalist for hire. However, showcases for her powerful voice did not lead to greater visibility--or even credit. On both "Gonna Make You Sweat" and Black Box's "Everybody Everybody", she was replaced on video by a....less voluptuous performer.
Fortunately, new laws protecting the rights of backup singers are in place, and Wash is getting the respect she deserves.
With Martha Wash singing, "Gonna Make You Sweat" is a stone groove.
That was pretty much standard on the Eurodisco scene in the heyday of MTV, wasn't it? I remember seeing E-Type (for some reason) in concert and realising that the hot girl in the underpants dancing in front of the mic wasn't actually singing, while there was a less-conventionally-model-bodied woman standing up beside the drum riser actually singing... But yeah, that song is a hell of a floor filler.
That was pretty much standard on the Eurodisco scene in the heyday of MTV wasn't it?
That's true. Lots of lip synching and gyrating supermodel bodies.
But Martha Wash was a special case: not one, but two vocal hijackings. When she first saw the Black Box video, she called her manager and yelled, "I don't believe this shit is happening again!"
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beer_good_foamy) wrote2020-07-23 01:43 pm
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Except...Zelma Davis wasn't the one singing.
The uncredited singer in question was Martha Wash, one of the underappreciated goddesses of disco/dance music. Wash and Izola Armstead started out in the 1970s as backups to Sylvester on hits like "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Dance (Disco Heat)". They vaulted into unlikely stardom with "It's Raining Men," re-christening themselves The Weather Girls.
Wash eventually left the Weather Girls name to Armstead, then spent the next decade as a sought after vocalist for hire. However, showcases for her powerful voice did not lead to greater visibility--or even credit. On both "Gonna Make You Sweat" and Black Box's "Everybody Everybody", she was replaced on video by a....less voluptuous performer.
Fortunately, new laws protecting the rights of backup singers are in place, and Wash is getting the respect she deserves.
With Martha Wash singing, "Gonna Make You Sweat" is a stone groove.
https://youtu.be/LaTGrV58wec
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That's true. Lots of lip synching and gyrating supermodel bodies.
But Martha Wash was a special case: not one, but two vocal hijackings. When she first saw the Black Box video, she called her manager and yelled, "I don't believe this shit is happening again!"
https://youtu.be/18N2k1TBBRE