Martha Wash - Carry On (Tuff Jam Vocal Mix) Delirious Records 1997

Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought them to mainstream pop attention. The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.
After disbanding in 1988, Wash transitioned to house music as a featured artist on several successful songs. Her success on the Billboard dance chart has earned her the honorific title The Queen of Clubland, with a total of fifteen number-one songs on the chart to date.
Wash is also noted for sparking legislation in the early 1990s that made vocal credits mandatory on CDs and music videos. Starting in the late-1980s, her studio vocals were used in several successful dance songs without her permission or proper credit. Models lip-synched to her voice in music videos and during live performances, obscuring Wash's contributions and hiding Wash's size as a full-figured woman. As a result, she was denied credit and royalties for many of the songs she recorded. This included multi platinum-selling song "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)". Subsequently, in Rolling Stone, music critic Jason Newman described Martha Wash as "The Most Famous Unknown Singer of the '90s". In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 58th most successful dance artist of all time.
Her self-titled first solo album Martha Wash was released on February 23, 1993. The album peaked at number 169 on the Billboard 200, number 42 on the R&B Albums chart, and number 8 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The album's lead single, "Carry On", released on October 30, 1992, became Wash's fifth number-one dance single as a solo artist in the US. The second single "Give It to You" also reached number one on the dance chart. The album's third single "Runaround" reached the top-ten on the Dance chart, but the follow-up single "So Whatcha Gonna Do" failed to chart. "Now That You're Gone" was also released as a promotional single.
In 1994, the C+C Music Factory, who had just reached an agreement with Wash and her lawsuit, asked Wash to join the group and record on their album. On August 9, 1994, the group released their second album Anything Goes!. The album's lead single "Do You Wanna Get Funky" featured a collaboration of Wash, C+C Music Factory, Zelma Davis, and Trilogy. "Do You Wanna Get Funky" peaked at number forty on the Hot 100 and number one on the Dance chart. In 1995, Wash embarked on an international tour with the C+C Music Factory.
In 1997, American DJ and record producer Todd Terry released his sixth album Ready for a New Day. The album's lead single "Keep on Jumpin'", featuring a collaboration of Terry, Wash, and Jocelyn Brown, was released on June 24, 1996. The song peaked on at number one on the Dance charts and reached the top-ten on the UK Singles chart. On June 9, 1997, they released a follow-up single "Something Goin' On (In Your Soul)". The song topped the Dance charts and peaked at number five on the UK Singles chart. Additionally, the song was also certified Silver-status in the United Kingdom.
Wash's activism and legal wranglings on behalf of recording artists also resulted in eventual federal legislation making vocal credit mandatory for all albums and music videos.
Wash, who is viewed as a gay icon, has been involved in LGBT rights and she remains an outspoken advocate for the gay community. In open letter addressed to the LGBT community, Wash acknowledged the support she has received back from community. Wash also stated "It means the world to me when fans tell me they've followed me through the Sylvester years, or they came out to my music, or someone decided not to take their life. These are the people I sing for. So to all you beautiful people out there I say: stand strong, don't give in and carry on." Wash has also been an activist for the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than thirty years after watching close-friend and music mentor Sylvester succumb to the disease. On World AIDS Day in December 2012, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in San Francisco from the AIDS Emergency Fund for her advocacy and fundraising to provide financial assistance to victims of the disease.