Vesta Williams: Difference between revisions

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By 2002, Williams became a radio personality and was co-hosting a morning show on [[KRNB]], a radio station based in Dallas/Fort Worth.<ref>http://www.vestawilliams.com/index2.html</ref> In recent years, Williams lost 100 pounds, going from size 26 to a size 6.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n6_v51/ai_18158119/ | work=Ebony | title=The new & improved Vesta: from size 26 to size 6 | year=1996}}</ref> It was at this time that Williams became an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/arts/music/vesta-williams-singer-and-actress-dies-at-53.html | work=The New York Times | title=Vesta Williams, R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 53 | date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>
By 2002, Williams became a radio personality and was co-hosting a morning show on [[KRNB]], a radio station based in Dallas/Fort Worth.<ref>http://www.vestawilliams.com/index2.html</ref> In recent years, Williams lost 100 pounds, going from size 26 to a size 6.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n6_v51/ai_18158119/ | work=Ebony | title=The new & improved Vesta: from size 26 to size 6 | year=1996}}</ref> It was at this time that Williams became an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/arts/music/vesta-williams-singer-and-actress-dies-at-53.html | work=The New York Times | title=Vesta Williams, R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 53 | date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>


Her final performance was five days before her untimely death on September 17, 2011 in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]], performing at the Autumn Jazz Explosion."<ref name="sing"/>
Her final performance was on September 17, 2011 in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]], performing at the Autumn Jazz Explosion."<ref name="sing"/>


Williams was scheduled to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in Los Angeles on October 22. Shanice performed "Congratulations" in the show as a tribute to Williams; there also was a tribute to the late singer, [[Teena Marie]].<ref>http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&GT1=28101</ref> She was taping [[TV One (US TV network)|TV One]]'s "Unsung" at the time of her death. The episode aired January 2nd, 2012.<ref>http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&affid=100055</ref>
Williams was scheduled to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in Los Angeles on October 22. Shanice performed "Congratulations" in the show as a tribute to Williams; there also was a tribute to the late singer, [[Teena Marie]].<ref>http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&GT1=28101</ref> She was taping [[TV One (US TV network)|TV One]]'s "Unsung" at the time of her death. The episode will air January 2nd, 2012.<ref>http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&affid=100055</ref>


==Death==
==Death==
On September 22, Williams was found dead in a hotel room in [[El Segundo, California]], a suburb of Los Angeles.<ref name='ABC-Obit'/><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/vesta-williams-found-dead/2011/09/23/Passes Away|last=Chandler|first=D.L.|date=2011-09-23|publisher=mtv.com|accessdate=23 September 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://gumbumper.com/2011/09/sad-news-rb-singer-vesta-williams-found-dead-in-hotel Gumbumper.com]</ref> According to the county coroner's office, Williams was found dead at 6:15 p.m. A Los Angeles County Coroner's Office spokesperson has stated that the autopsy did not yield a cause of death. In late December, the family released this statement through family friend, singer/producer Norwood Young, regarding the official cause of her death: "Following three months of intensive coroner’s autopsy and toxicology research, it has been definitively determined that the cause of death for our beloved Vesta was 'natural death' from 'hypertensive heart disease.'”<ref>http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9073477.htm</ref> "An enlarged heart can remain undetected in the body for many years." he added.<ref>http://www.essence.com/2011/12/30/vesta-williams-cause-of-death-revealed/</ref><ref>hecelebritycafe.com/feature/80s-singer-vesta-cause-death-revealed-died-enlarged-heart-01-02-2012</ref>
On September 22, Williams was found dead in a hotel room in [[El Segundo, California]], a suburb of Los Angeles.<ref name='ABC-Obit'/><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/vesta-williams-found-dead/2011/09/23/Passes Away|last=Chandler|first=D.L.|date=2011-09-23|publisher=mtv.com|accessdate=23 September 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://gumbumper.com/2011/09/sad-news-rb-singer-vesta-williams-found-dead-in-hotel Gumbumper.com]</ref> According to the county coroner's office, Williams was found dead at 6:15 p.m. While an autopsy immediately following Williams' demise did not yield a cause of death, her family released the following statement at the end of December, 2011: "Following three months of intensive coroner’s autopsy and toxicology research, it has been definitively determined that the cause of death for our beloved Vesta was 'natural death' from 'hypertensive heart disease.'”<ref>[http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9073477.htm PRWeb, January 3, 2011 - Williams' family releases statement on cause of death]</ref>


Ms. Williams was laid to rest at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]] on Octoder 4th, 2011 following the public memorial service at [[West Angeles Church of God in Christ]] in [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref>http://blackpressradio.com/</ref> Prominent attendees included [[Wanda Dee]], Peggi Blu, [[Freda Payne]], [[Sheryl Lee Ralph]], [[Loretta Devine]], [[Kellita Smith]], Norwood Young, [[Michael Collier]], [[Miki Howard]], [[Karel Bouley]], [[Kiki Shepard]], Jackee’, Luenell and renowned Blues singer, [[Linda Hopkins]].<ref>http://mrmokelly.com/tag/vesta-williams-funeral/</ref>
Vesta Williams was interred at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]] on Octoder 4th, 2011 following a public memorial service at [[West Angeles Church of God in Christ]] in [[Los Angeles, California]]. She is survived by her mother, daughter, three sisters, brother, three grandchildren and many cousins.<ref>http://praisephilly.com/ceces-daily-scoop/cecemcghee/hundreds-turn-out-for-homegoing-celebration-for-singer-vesta-williams/</ref>

She is survived by her mother, daughter, three sisters, brother and three grandchildren as well as many cousins, friends and fans.<ref>http://praisephilly.com/ceces-daily-scoop/cecemcghee/hundreds-turn-out-for-homegoing-celebration-for-singer-vesta-williams/</ref>


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 19:28, 7 January 2012

Vesta Williams
Background information
Birth nameMary Vesta Williams[1]
DiedEl Segundo, California, U.S.[1]
GenresPop, R&B, soul, jazz, adult contemporary
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
LabelsA&M/PolyGram Records
Websitewww.vestawilliams.com

Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011[2]) was an American R&B singer. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was sometimes simply billed as Vesta beginning in the 1990s.[3] She was known for her four-octave vocal range.[4][5] Although Williams never had any albums certified gold nor any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she scored six Top 10 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Williams was known for the hits "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," "Sweet Sweet Love," "Special", and her 1989 #1 hit and signature song,[6] "Congratulations".[7]

Biography

Born in Coshocton, Ohio, United States,[1][3] Williams' father was a disc jockey. Her family moved from Ohio to Los Angeles in the 1960s. While there, Williams and her three sisters, Margaret, Marte and Marlena, appeared on the television show Jack and Jill as "The Williams Sisters".[8] Later, she returned to Ohio but decided to go back to Los Angeles in order to launch a solo career.[3] Former Fifth Dimension member Ron Townson put Williams in his band Wild Honey.[8] Following that stint, Williams found work as a backup singer, working with artists such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Sting, Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker and Gordon Lightfoot. Williams sang on the original version of Joe Sample's "The Survivor",[8] and met producer David Crawford while working with his group Klique. After doing session work, she landed a recording contract with A&M Records and her debut album, Vesta, was released in 1986.[8] The album featured her first Top 10 R&B hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", which became her only UK hit and performed modestly on the US R&B charts.[3]

Her 1988 release, Vesta 4 U, produced the Top 10 R&B hits "Sweet Sweet Love", "4 U", and "Congratulations", with the latter peaking at #55 on the Hot 100 chart and #1 on the R&B chart.[citation needed] The album would become her most successful,[citation needed] and her only album to appear on the US Billboard 200, peaking at #131. In 1991, Williams released her third album entitled Special, with the title track as a single. "Special" became her second highest charting song on the R&B chart at #2, but sales of the album were less than that of Vesta 4 U. Her next album, 1993's Everything-N-More, produced only a minor R&B hit, "Always".[9]

In 1989, Polygram Records purchased A&M Records. Williams' 1998 album Relationships was released under the Polygram name, and it became a modest seller, appearing on the R&B charts. Following the release of Relationships, A&M/Polygram did not renew her contract. Williams continued to work as a session singer, landing spots on albums by such artists as Phil Perry, Howard Hewett, and George Duke. Her voice could be heard by radio listeners in jingles for advertisers that included McDonalds, Nike, Baskin Robbins, Diet Coke, Revlon and Exxon.[10]

Williams portrayed a saloon singer in the 1993 film Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles.[11] During this time period she had a hit with the SWV song, "Rain", recorded alongside smooth jazz musician, Norman Brown.[citation needed] Williams had a recurring role as "Monica", Jackee Harry's best friend, in the television series Sister, Sister in the 1994-95 season. Her singing voice is featured during the opening theme song of UPN's Malcolm and Eddie.[12]

In 2000, Polygram released a compilation album, featuring songs from Williams and Polygram artist, CeCe Peniston. In 2007, Williams released an album of R&B songs on Shanachie Records entitled Distant Lover. Produced by Chris "Big Dog" Davis, Distant Lover was a cover album featuring songs originally recorded by Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Sade, and Deniece Williams. Her last recording was the song "Dedicated," released on 7 December 2010 on Stimuli Music.[13]

By 2002, Williams became a radio personality and was co-hosting a morning show on KRNB, a radio station based in Dallas/Fort Worth.[14] In recent years, Williams lost 100 pounds, going from size 26 to a size 6.[15] It was at this time that Williams became an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.[16]

Her final performance was on September 17, 2011 in Portsmouth, Virginia, performing at the Autumn Jazz Explosion."[12]

Williams was scheduled to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in Los Angeles on October 22. Shanice performed "Congratulations" in the show as a tribute to Williams; there also was a tribute to the late singer, Teena Marie.[17] She was taping TV One's "Unsung" at the time of her death. The episode will air January 2nd, 2012.[18]

Death

On September 22, Williams was found dead in a hotel room in El Segundo, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.[1][19][20] According to the county coroner's office, Williams was found dead at 6:15 p.m. While an autopsy immediately following Williams' demise did not yield a cause of death, her family released the following statement at the end of December, 2011: "Following three months of intensive coroner’s autopsy and toxicology research, it has been definitively determined that the cause of death for our beloved Vesta was 'natural death' from 'hypertensive heart disease.'”[21]

Vesta Williams was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) on Octoder 4th, 2011 following a public memorial service at West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, California. She is survived by her mother, daughter, three sisters, brother, three grandchildren and many cousins.[22]

Discography

Albums

Year Album Chart Positions[23] Record Label
US US
R&B
1986 Vesta — 43 A&M
1988 Vesta 4 U 131 26
1991 Special — 15
1993 Everything-N-More — 65
1998 Relationships — 55 I.E. / PolyGram
2000 Winning Combinations (a compilation) with CeCe Peniston — — A&M/Universal
2007 Distant Lover — — Shanachie
"—" denotes the album failed to chart

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions[24]
US US
R&B 		US
Dance 		Dutch Single Top 100 UK[25]
1986 "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" — 9 45 20 14
1987 "Something About You" — 46 21 — —
"Don't Blow a Good Thing" — 17 5 — 89
"Suddenly It's Magic" — — — — 88
"You Make Me Want To (Love Again)" — 90 — — —
1988 "Sweet, Sweet Love" — 4 — — —
1989 "4 U" — 9 — — —
"Congratulations" 55 5 — — —
"How You Feel" — 70 — — —
1990 "I'll Be Good to You" (with Najee) — 9 — — —
1991 "Special" — 2 — — —
"Do Ya" — 43 — — —
1993 "Always" — 44 — — —
1998 "Somebody For Me" — — — — —
2010 "Dedicated" — — — — —
"—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Associated Press (2011-09-23). "R&B Singer Vesta Williams Found Dead at 53". ABC News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |deadurl=, |doibroken=, |coauthors=, |separator=, |trans_title=, |month=, and |embargo= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.eurweb.com/2011/09/audio-exclusive-norwood-young-details-vestas-final-days/
  3. ^ a b c d "Biography by Ron Wynn". Allmusic.com. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  4. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacia-l-brown/vesta-williams-unsung-tv-one_b_1179715.html
  5. ^ http://praisecleveland.com/breaking-news/edpowell/breaking-news-rb-singer-vesta-williams-found-dead-in-l-a-hotel-room/
  6. ^ http://www.soultracks.com/story-vesta-williams-dies?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=1000
  7. ^ Associated Press (2011-09-24). "Vesta Williams, R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 53". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |deadurl=, |doibroken=, |coauthors=, |separator=, |trans_title=, |month=, and |embargo= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d http://www.allmusic.com/artist/vesta-williams-p5836
  9. ^ http://www.wavenewspapers.com/newsinblack/VESTA-WILLIAMS-REPORTEDLY-FOUND-DEAD-130416578.html
  10. ^ http://www.theroot.com/buzz/rb-singer-vesta-williams-found-dead
  11. ^ "Posse (1993)". Box Office Mojo. May 14, 1993. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  12. ^ a b http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/hiphopmediatraining/365080/vesta-williams-death-confirmed-by-los-angeles-coroner/
  13. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dedicated/id405109403
  14. ^ http://www.vestawilliams.com/index2.html
  15. ^ "The new & improved Vesta: from size 26 to size 6". Ebony. 1996.
  16. ^ "Vesta Williams, R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 53". The New York Times. September 24, 2011.
  17. ^ http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&GT1=28101
  18. ^ http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=671555&affid=100055
  19. ^ Chandler, D.L. (2011-09-23), mtv.com Away http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/vesta-williams-found-dead/2011/09/23/Passes Away, retrieved 23 September 2011 {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ Gumbumper.com
  21. ^ PRWeb, January 3, 2011 - Williams' family releases statement on cause of death
  22. ^ http://praisephilly.com/ceces-daily-scoop/cecemcghee/hundreds-turn-out-for-homegoing-celebration-for-singer-vesta-williams/
  23. ^ "Vesta US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  24. ^ "Vesta US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  25. ^ "Vesta UK chart history". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2010-02-16.

External links

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