Original Weather Girl Martha Wash talks about her music and show at Joe’s Pub

Martha Wash, the Original Weather Girl. Photo Credit: Mike Ruiz.

Original Weather Girl Martha Wash chatted about her music and her upcoming show at Joe’s Pub on Valentine’s Day.

Wash is affectionately known as “The Queen of Clubland,” thanks to her ongoing success in the dance music genre. 

Joe’s Pub show

On her forthcoming “Love & Conflict” show at Joe’s Pub on February 14th, she remarked, “I am excited. I am in rehearsals right now, I am getting ready.”

““I think that love is all encompassing, and we have to learn how to deal with the different aspects of love. I thank the fans for their support as well,” she said.

Music and songwriting inspirations

On her music and songwriting inspirations, she said, “I am inspired by all kinds of things. There is no one particular thing. I like all kinds of music. The songs that usually get sent to me are something that I either like or I decided to pass on.”

‘Love & Conflict’ album

“I like trying different things, and that’s basically how the ‘Love & Conflict’ album came about,” she said.

“I am really actually promoting this album right now because I didn’t get to promote it prior to this due to COVID, which shut everything down. I didn’t really get a chance to promote the album. I am focusing on it more this year,” she elaborated.

Song selection process for the CD

On the song selection approach for the album, she said, “ Sammy Basbous sent me the songs, and I liked them. I told him to keep them coming!”

“When we listened to the bulk of the songs, they had to do with love, and the different approaches with love, and the things that you go through with love because there are so many different types of love,” she said.

“When we put it all together and listened to it, we decided to call it ‘Love & Conflict’,” she added.

Wash continued, “Dealing with the different aspects of love… you have the passion with love, you have the confusion and the confrontations of love and dealing with them. All of these things go with love. Love is all encompassing, so it’s the good, it’s the bad, and the ugly, and how you deal with those different aspects of love.”

“I hope the fans enjoy this album,” the disco and dance diva said.

Favorite songs on the album

While she enjoys all of the tracks on the album, she claimed “Honey My Friend” as her personal favorite. “They are all diverse enough where you can understand them all,” she admitted.

She noted that “Glamour Flows” is about “finding your own glamour.” “We all can see the outside but glamour really flows from the inside, and you have to find what you glamour is, and don’t dim it for anybody else who may not understand your glamour,” she said.

“Whatever your glamour is, put it out there, and be you, however you are,” she added.

The digital age

On being a part of the digital age, Wash said, “It’s crazy. I think as far as artists go, it’s awful.”

“As far as the pay is concerned (everybody is streaming and downloading, which is fine), but it’s horrible when artists don’t get paid rightfully with what they deserve. That’s the downside of it, for me,” she explained.

“The good part is the accessibility where people all over the world can have access to your music,” she added.

‘It’s Raining Men’

Her Weather Girls signature song “It’s Raining Men” is still relevant to this day, and it is still being played on the radio airwaves.

“It is still hanging on,” she said with a sweet laugh. “It’s a classic now, so that’s cool. It is over 40 years old now.”

Wash earned a Grammy nomination as part of The Weather Girls for “It’s Raining Men” for “Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.”

“That was so funny,” she recalled. “Getting the Grammy nomination was cool, although we did lose to Rufus and Chaka Khan. That was my first time at the Grammy Awards.”

Key to longevity in music

On the key to longevity in the music business, she said, “Just doing what you do, and the fans will follow you.”

“Just keep doing what you are doing,” she underscored. “Music keeps evolving; music will always evolve. I just say keep doing what you are doing, and garner new fans.”

“I’m getting new fans from kids who weren’t even born when my music first started coming out. That’s the great part about music; it lives on forever, and you can garner new fans along the way,” she elaborated.

“As an artist, you just keep doing what you are doing, and that is making music,” she said. “Also, grow and evolve.”

‘Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)’

Wash revealed that her hit single “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” was released over 30 years, ago, and it is “still being played.”

“It’s the music that keeps on giving,” she said with a sweet laugh. “It keeps on going, and that’s cool.”

Advice for young and aspiring artists

For young and emerging artists, she said, “Just keep doing what you are doing. You are going to get those ‘yeses’ and ‘nos,’ but don’t get discouraged because it happens to everybody.”

“Find the music that you like to record, and don’t change after the sounds that are out there now. Find your own groove and your own lane, and sometimes, you can be the one that starts a new path in music,” she elaborated.

“Hopefully, you can find an audience for your music, and you wind up creating a new path for music, and they start following you as opposed to you following somebody else,” she added.

Stage of her life

On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said, “Keep it moving.”

Superpower of choice

Her superpower of choice would be “being able to hear what people say and what people think along with invisibility.”

Dream duet choice in music

Wash listed the late but great “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin as her dream duet choice.

“I did a duet with Luther Vandross so that was really cool,” she admitted. “I had always wanted to do something with Aretha Franklin, but it never happened.”

Success

On her definition of the word success, Wash said, “Success means still being here. Also, people still wanting to hear the music that I’ve done Success is not monetary or wealth. It is being able to do what you still like to do.”

Her “Love & Conflict” album is available on digital service providers by clicking here.

To learn more about Martha Wash, check out her official homepage, and follow her on Instagram.