Does anybody remember this songstress? She had a string of hits during the 80's and 90's, including "Congratulations", "Suddenly It's Magic", and "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". She has sang backup for other female artists such as Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Stephanie Mills and Gladys Knight, as well as singing jingles for commercials such as McDonald's, Diet Coke, Honda and Revlon. Vesta has a lot of talent, makes me wonder what she's been up to lately, since you don't hear anything about her anymore.

I remember Vesta-she was a great singer. I recall that she lost alot of weight and appeared on several episodes of the 90's show "Sister, Sister," but I haven't seen her in anything since. Very beautiful voice .

I had her album back in the day... Dug her voice, I remember a story here on the Org about her hurling on her audience @ a show once Apparently she was a drinker, hope she's straight now. Would love to hear her singing again...

nurse said:

I never knew that Vesta was on "Sister Sister", but I recently read online that she is an actress/comedian, so it makes perfect sense.
[Edited 5/19/06 17:16pm]

CalhounSq said:

DAMN, for real? That's messed up. I hope she's gotten back on the right path too. With her talents, she would continue to be successful.

psychodelicide said:

Yes she was she played Jackee' Harry's best friend on the show.Vesta was a beautiful lady and her voice was wonderful. I also wonder what ever happened to her .

nurse said:

Cool. A cable station (forget which one, I need to check it out), sometimes broadcasts reruns of "Sister Sister". I need to find out which channel, so I can check it out. It would be nice to see Vesta acting in a sitcom.

nurse said:

you mean Jackee' NOT Vesta.

FalseSetto said:[quote]

nurse said:

Really ??

Here's a cool shot of Ves during the 70's , in the group Flash .


This is one of my faves . Released in 1998 with some fine jazz in a few songs .


Her debut from 1987 had many great cuts too . Solid production-work by Bryan Loren & The Valentine Brothers .
( Don't Blow A Good Thing , It's You , You Make Me Wanna Love Again, etc )
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[Edited 5/20/06 10:34am]

psychodelicide said:

Raised in coshocton, ohio, Vesta Williams began to distinguish herself as an entertainer at an early age. the daughter of a radio disc jokey, williams moved with her family to los angeles in the 1960s and appeared on the television show jack & jill, along with her sisters, as part of the williams sisters. in high school, she continued to sing and began to perform stand-up comedy. though she moved back to ohio in 1977, she continued to perform with her cousin's band. as part of fifth dimension member robert townsend's band, wild honey, vesta gained the experience and recognition necessary to launch a solo career. with her passion now her profession, she became one of the industry's most sought-after studio singers. commercial jingles for companies such as mcdonald's, diet coke, honda and revlon, among others, eventually lead to gigs as a back-up singer for the likes of chaka khan, anita baker, stephanie mills and gladys knight.

williams met producer david crawford through joe sample (who, in 1999, collaborated with lalah hathaway on the song lives on), for whom she'd recorded the original vocals for "the survivor". her meeting with crawford led to a 1986 record contract with a&m records, which resulted in four releases, beginning with the self-titled vesta. featuring patti labelle hair, vesta tore her way through the album's eleven sassy r&b tracks. while all those who were privleged to hear vesta became life-long fans, the album barely made a dent in the market, failing to cross over to white audiences. the self-assured lyrics and delivery of such songs as "don't blow a good thing", "get out of my life" and "i can make your dreams come true" helped to establish williams as a diva-in-the-making, but it was "it's you" that foreshadowed the musical direction that she would eventually take.

1988 saw the release of vesta's breakthough album, vesta 4 u. the first two singles— "sweet, sweet love" and "congratulations"—received considerable play on black radio stations and jet published articles about the hot, "new" singer with a four-octave range. as the masses became introduced to her voice, they also got a glimpse of her comedic talents. when asked, during an appearance on the arsenio hall show, if she had written the song "congratulations" based on personal experience, the soulstress quipped, "oh, no, honey. if that ever happened to me, i'd probably burn the church down, or something". it was during that same episode that arsenio hall coaxed vesta into doing a riotous impersonation of patti labelle and michael mcdonald performing their recent hit, "on my own". additionallly, viewers of bet's video soul were treated to a whole week of vesta as guest vj. unfortunately, the publicity surrounding vesta 4 u peetered out prior to exposing the hits "hunger" and "running into memories"—both of which are as powerful as they are passionate.

vesta's next two albums—special and everything-n-more—may not have enjoyed the commercial success of her sophomore release, but that didn't stop her from growing as an artist by contributing as both a writer and producer. slowly, on special, vesta began to turn away from more up-tempo material and focus her attention on ballads that provided her an opportunity to truly develop her vocal range. songs like "special" and "thank you for the chance" built upon her best work from both vesta and vesta 4 u while paving the road for everything- n-more and relationships. about the same time that everything-n-more was released, vesta appeared in the mario van peebles film posse as vera, a mae west-like saloon singer with the mouth of a sailor and a heart of gold.

after the release of everything-n-more, vesta began the search for a new record label. but it wasn't until after a tour with the renowned jazz quartet, fourplay, that she would find her new recording home. "i did the fourplay tour and, in the interim, made some really good friends in the band. lee ritenour and i really hit it off, so he started calling me to work on other projects like the eric marienthal record easy street. i did a cover of the aretha franklin tune, 'til you come back to me'. soon he started telling me about this label he was putting together," vesta explains. the sense of stability ritenour's label promised, coupled with a sincere interest in and attention to her career, was all vesta needed to sign on. "i was excited about being a priority at a label," vesta adds.

aside from marking her return to recording, relationships is significant because it is vesta's first concept album. ten original songs—penned by vesta—and a cover of stevie wonder's "you and i" trace vesta's personal journey through the sometimes rocky wilderness of relationships. performing both lead and background vocals on all the songs not only supports the intense intimacy of the lyrics, but also provides listners with a generous dose of vesta's soul stylings.

over the years, vesta has proven herself to be a talented singer, songwriter and comedian. additionally, vesta has helped to expand the role of women within the music industry by helping them to clear the final hurdle set in front of them and land comfortably in positions as engineers and producers. james dickerson's book women on top details vesta's role in furthering the career of producer/songwriter tena clark, explaining that when label executives refused her request that clark produce several of the tracks on vesta 4 u ms. williams replied that, unless they acquiesced, she may just come down with a case of laryngitis that would last five years—the duration of her contract with a&m. clark puts it, "she broke down doors for me. it's so rare that someone has the balls to stand up for what they believe in, and i will always be indebted to her for that." by earning the respect of the music community and doing her best to provide opportunities for women in all facets of the industry, vesta has truly proven herself a diva.

Source : www.divastation.com/vesta...a_bio.html

FalseSetto said:

Vesta was on Sister, Sister for few episodes. Se was a friend of Jackee Harry's character.

PurpleCharm said:

Thanks PurpleCharm . I'd never post an untruth .

psychodelicide said:

Vesta performed at my college, when I was a sophomore. My then-girlfriend went to the show with some of her friends and apparently frowned in response to one of Vesta's rowdier, raunchier jokes.

Problem was, girlfriend was sitting in the front where Vesta could see her reaction.

Vesta interrupted her own concert and proceeded to rag on her, like David Chappelle's Reginald Warrington standup comic in "The Nutty Professor."

She practically said, "Should I get her?" to the audience.

My girlfriend swore she would never go back to a Vesta show.

100MPH said:

nice pics

yeah she was great, she was in the Mario Van Peeples movie "Posse" (1993) and i do know she had gained weight during that time or something, but she has lost the weight and looks great.
[Edited 5/21/06 15:41pm]

I remember seeing her in 2000 where she made an impressions show. Imitated damn near everybody; Bette Midler, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin but the funniest was her imitation of Chaka.

She is wild, alright. Showed up in Donnie Simpson's BET video soul in the early 90's, high outta her ass, making fun of Regina Belle's voice.

I wonder where she is now!