35 Facts About Martha Wash

Martha Elaine Wash was born on December 28,1953 and is an American singer and songwriter.

Martha Wash is noted for sparking legislation in the early 1990s that made vocal credits mandatory on CDs and music videos.

Martha Wash attended in McKinley Elementary and graduated from San Francisco Polytechnic High School, where she sang in the school choir.

Shortly after graduating high school, Martha Wash joined a gospel group NOW, which included Izora Rhodes.

In February 1976, Martha Wash auditioned as a backup singer before a singer-songwriter Sylvester and his manager Brent Thomson.

In 1986, Martha Wash released a solo song, "Breakin' The Ice", on the soundtrack for the Paramount feature film Gung Ho.

Shortly after the album, the Weather Girls disbanded and Martha Wash took up a solo career and began working as a session vocalist.

In 1989, Martha Wash recorded the song " True Love" as a demo, produced by David Cole who would later form the C+C Music Factory.

The song, which featured Martha Wash's vocals, became an international hit and peaked in the top-ten positions of many countries.

The group followed up with release of another single "Everybody Everybody", featuring Martha Wash, which became another international success.

Martha Wash initially became aware of the scandal and sued RCA Records and Black Box for commercial appropriation in September 1990.

Martha Wash signed her to an eight-album recording contract and financed her national tour.

Additionally, the song used an edited compilation of vocal parts that Martha Wash recorded in June 1990 for an unrelated demonstration tape.

On December 11,1991, Martha Wash filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against C+C Music Factory's Robert Clivilles and David Cole, charging the producers and their record company, Sony Music Entertainment, with fraud, deceptive packaging and commercial appropriation.

Martha Wash's self-titled first solo album Martha Wash was released on February 23,1993.

In 1995, Martha Wash embarked on an international tour with the C+C Music Factory.

In January 1998, Martha Wash released a compilation album The Collection, on Logic Records.

Martha Wash was featured on Todd Terry's single "Ready for a New Day", which peaked at number twenty on the Dance chart.

In 2000, Martha Wash released two singles "Listen to the People" and re-recorded version of "It's Raining Men".

Martha Wash performed at the opening ceremony of the OutGames in Montreal in July 2006.

Martha Wash performed at numerous Human Rights Campaign events in the US In 2006, Wash appeared as a guest on GSN's I've Got a Secret, and performed "It's Raining Men" for the all-gay panel.

DJ Tony Moran's compilation CD The Event featured a single featuring Martha Wash entitled "Keep Your Body Working".

Martha Wash performed at Chicago Pride Parade in June 2008.

In March 2014, Martha Wash released a remix of the third single "I'm Not Coming Down", which peaked at number two on the Dance chart.

In 2015, Martha Wash formed a group with disco vocalists Evelyn "Champagne" King and Linda Clifford called First Ladies of Disco.

In December 2015, Martha Wash released a single "N2U", produced by Showtek and Eva Shaw on Spinnin' Records.

In November 2017, Martha Wash collaborated with Turkish singer Serhat, releasing a single with multi-versions of his Eurovision 2016 entry I Didn't Know.

The song was featured on the musical film "Wholly Broken" for which Martha Wash plays the role of a woman named "Rose".

Martha Wash's voice speaks to both the church and a pop ear and was built to cut through the bass of a dance club.

In 2004, Martha Wash launched her own independent recording label called Purple Rose Records.

The first release on the label was the single "You Lift Me Up" in September 2004, a song by Martha Wash, which peaked in the top five of Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart.

In 1990, Martha Wash won lawsuits against music groups C+C Music Factory and Black Box for failing to provide vocal credits for songs she recorded with them as well as committing fraud by using models to lip-sync her vocals in music videos, stage shows, and televised performances.

Martha 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 2011, Martha Wash headlined three separate charity concerts for the nonprofit AIDS organization: Fortitude, a President's Day weekend celebration in Fort Lauderdale benefiting amfAR, and two local San Antonio AIDS charities.

In 2012, Martha Wash became a supporter of the You Can Play Project.