..."It's Raining Men," a bombastic vocal romp that winkingly borrowed from gospel music – "Hallelujah, it's raining men, amen!" goes its chorus – was one of the biggest hits of the genre known as hi-NRG, a souped-up version of disco that ruled dance clubs in the 1980s.
Sung with gusto by Ms. Armstead, then known as Izora Rhodes, and her partner, Martha Wash, the song only reached No. 46 on the pop charts when it was released in 1983, but hit No. 1 on the club charts and later reached No. 2 in England.
Written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer – of "Late Show With David Letterman" – the song has since become an anthem of the gay club scene and in 2001 it again reached the top of the British charts with a version by a former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell.
Written by Paul Shaffer?? Who knew? And Homer Simpson loved it, too. One of the funniest moment at my wedding was when the DJ played it and all the gay men leapt to their feet, leaving my het cousins to blink and ask, "gay men like this song?"
