Backatcha

Album: Backatcha

Group: The Two Tons

Year: 1980

Songs of Note: I Depend on You, I Been Down

For those of you that are fans of pop-up video, novelty songs, and one hit wonders from the 80's, you should already be familiar with The Two Tons. After changing thier name to the Weather Girls, they had their first and only hit with the Waylon Smithers' favorite, "It's Raining Men".

After doing some very brief research, the two singers, Martha Walsh & Izora Rhodes Armstead, got their start in the gospel group NOW (News of the World) before moving on to more secular jams. This shaped my view of the groups music. Whether it was intentional or not, I heard a religious undertone to almost all of the songs on the album. This may be a christian disco album. Many of the songs are about love as a source of saving. The giver of that love is not always clear, it could be a man or a higher being. Granted " if you like what I’m givin, then I’ll give you a little more" is most likely about something secular, many other lyrics are about the joy of your love and never feeling a love like this before.

The record itself has definite arc, Side 1 songs are all about finding love and how special that love. Side 2 focuses on the end of that love affair and closes with the "I Will Survive" style anthem and grammatically impaired "I Been Down".

I am fascinated by the career paths of many one-hit wonders. What may seem to be instant success really is the product of years of hard work. They work hard but are only remembered for one thing. For The Two Tons, Martha Walsh did go on to be a prominent vocalist in a number of 90's dance hits, C+C music factory's "Everybody Dance Now" is one example. Backatcha provides a glimpse into the career of one such act. The music is worth a listen if you like disco but is not for anyone else.