R.I.P. Vesta Williams (1963-2011) Dies at 48

We were very sad to hear of the loss of R&B singer, Vesta Williams (March 18, 1963 – September 22, 2011), who was reportedly found dead in a hotel room in Los Angeles, CA on Friday morning.  However, it is believed that she passed away the previous night, Thursday, September 22, 2011.  The cause of her death is unknown at the time of this post.  We would like to extend our sincerest condolences to her family.

A message on her website simply said:

Vesta is no longer with us. She passed away

Thursday, September 22nd., 2011 in Los Angeles.

We don’t know why yet.

More information will be posted as we find out.

The site will remain in it’s original form for now.

Vesta we don’t know how, we don’t know why, we just know we’ll miss you so much.

Vesta Williams was a strikingly beautiful woman with one of the strongest voices in contemporary R&B.  She hit the scene in 1986 with her hit, Once Bitten, Twice Shy, which charted in the U.S. and across the pond in the U.K.  While she had several charting singles throughout her 20+ year career, she will likely be best known for her 1989 Top 5 hit, Congratulations, the lyrics of which feature an ex-lover coming to grips with the pending nuptials of her former beau.  She was a gifted singer whose best work can and will always be heard on the Quiet Storm each night.  She will be sorely missed.  Rest in Peace Vesta!

Here are a few of her biggest hits:

Congratulations (Peak position #5 R&B)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx22vCbqurA]

Sweet, Sweet Love (Peak position #4 U.S. R&B )

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHUzSNJ-2dE]

Special (Peak position #2 U.S. R&B)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcw98_bxbU]

Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Peak #9 U.S. R&B)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfAMx2WkqI0]

Wikipedia Bio:

Vesta Williams (March 18, 1963 – September 22, 2011) was an American R&B singer. Originally credited by her full name, she has sometimes been simply billed as Vesta since the 1990s.[1] 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 – including a #2 hit – from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s.

Born in Coshocton, OhioUnited States,[1] the daughter of a disc jockey, Williams became interested in singing while in high school. Her family moved from Ohio to Los Angeles in the 1960s. Williams and her sisters once appeared on the television show Jack and Jill as The Williams Sisters. She returned to Ohio in 1977, and sang in the girl group Wild Honey (with bandmate Freddi Poole), but soon decided to go back to Los Angeles to launch a solo career.[1] Former Fifth Dimension member Ron Townson put Williams in his band Wild Honey. After that stint, she found work as a session musician, working with artists such as Chaka KhanGladys KnightStephanie Mills, and Gordon Lightfoot. Williams sang on the original version of Joe Sample‘s “The Survivor”, and met producer David Crawford while working with his groupKlique. After doing much session work, she secured a recording contract with A&M Records which released her debut album Vesta in 1986. The album became a modest seller on the R&B Albums Chart and it featured her first Top 10 R&B hit “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, which also became her only UK hit.[1]

Her 1988 sophomore 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, her only single to appear in that chart. This would also be her most successful album, and her only album to appear on the US Billboard 200, peaking at #131. In 1991, Williams released her third album entitledSpecial, and the title track as a single. That single became her 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’sEverything-N-More, produced only the minor R&B hit “Always”.

In 1989, Polygram Records purchased A&M Records. Williams 1998 album Relationships was released under the Polygram name, and it became a modest seller and appeared on the R&B chart. After this album, A&M/Polygram Records parted ways with her. She continued to be a session singer, landing spots on albums by such artists as Phil PerryHoward Hewett, and George Duke.

In 2000, Polygram released a compilation album, featuring songs from Williams and CeCe Peniston, another Polygram artist.

In 2007, Williams released an album of R&B songs on Shanachie Records entitled Distant Lover. Produced by Chris “Big Dog” Davis, it featured songs originally recorded by Bill WithersStevie WonderSmokey RobinsonMarvin GayeSade, and Deniece Williams.

Williams portrayed a saloon singer in the 1993 film Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles. She also had a hit with the SWV song, “Rain“, with the smooth jazz musician, Norman Brown.

On September 23, 2011, it was reported that she had died the previous night, and had been found in a hotel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is currently unknown.[2]

Related Articles

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap