No, I really can't. There music all sounded the same, mid-tempo ballads. Did they work with the same producers?

scriptgirl said:

No, I really can't. There music all sounded the same, mid-tempo ballads. Did they work with the same producers?

I don't think so but I'm guessing you mean because they were so part of the urban contemporary scene with the big belting voices that they didn't stand out much to make something out of their comfort zone?

Timmy84 said:

scriptgirl said:

No, I really can't. There music all sounded the same, mid-tempo ballads. Did they work with the same producers?

I don't think so but I'm guessing you mean because they were so part of the urban contemporary scene with the big belting voices that they didn't stand out much to make something out of their comfort zone?

Regina Belle, Miki Howard & Vesta don't sound NOTHING a like. Vesta sounded like Chaka but that is it...That is what made music especially RnB music so much more special then. U can tell who was who when they sung.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Timmy84 said:

I don't think so but I'm guessing you mean because they were so part of the urban contemporary scene with the big belting voices that they didn't stand out much to make something out of their comfort zone?

Regina Belle, Miki Howard & Vesta don't sound NOTHING a like. Vesta sounded like Chaka but that is it...That is what made music especially RnB music so much more special then. U can tell who was who when they sung.

Shocking, I tell ya, SHOCKING!

^ If I can be blunt, maybe that was the problem with why Vesta wasn't "fully appreciated" as Shanice said because of her sounding so much like Chaka. Also there's a habit that maybe like so many of them, she refused to do POP music. Most of them with Regina Belle being somewhat of an exception (least with "A Whole New World" and "If I Could") were OK doing the R&B and jazz music because they grew up surrounding by it. Vocally they were different but musically?

scriptgirl said:

The problem with Vesta is this: she came out and hit her peak at a time where there were a whole lof of other rnb divas out tere: Miki Howard, Regina Belle, Lisa Stansfield, Shirley Murdock,Me'lisa Morgan, Karen White. A lot of those women, while uncommonly talented, had hits at the same time, were marketed to the same audience and they sounded alike. I mean, to this day, I lump Vesta, Regina and Miki together and can't tell them apart vocally. And it's not like the success of these women was spread out over a number of years-we are talking 86-90 and from what I remember hazily, while Vesta was well known and had hits, she was never a huge radio star or that big of a fan favorite, although I could be wrong

What someone really needs to look into it is why, after 1990, the age of the diva just died out. From then on, it was rap, new jack and neo soul. To this day, you still don't have a gamut of female singers tearing it up like you did in the late 80s.

Wow! That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say Vesta and Regina sound alike. And no, Vesta, Miki and Regina worked with different producers. Their music didn't sound even remotely the same.

I look at many of the younger female vocalists that have been around collecting hits for the past 10 years or so and many of them, I can't tell one from the other. I hear very little originality. Like I can't tell Beyonce's voice apart from a lot of the other young girls who are out here singing. They are all working with a lot of the same people. There's a certain sound that sells and they all want in on it. They are all using the same recylcled hip-hop beats and silly, meaningless lyrics. But, that's what the young kids want to hear.

Vesta's problem, like Meli'sa, Miki, Regina and Shirley, they did not have a Clive Davis behind them. IMO, Vesta and Meli'sa were WAY better singers than Whitney. But, their sound was too black. Clive was able to tame Whitney's voice to be better suited for Pop radio. She was marketed very heavily outside of black radio. The others were marketed only to black radio, and even then, the marketing was always half-assede. It's a fact that labesl do not spend the same kind of bread to market & promote an R&B artist as they do a Pop artist. I've heard this from a number of people over the years. Whitney was lucky enough to have the Pop label stamped on her music right away. Vesta had some amazing material to work with. She just didn't hit because her label/management decided not to expose her to the masses.

^ Yeah, Miki Howard talked about how Atlantic Records had boosted her as their Whitney Houston but they neglected to use the money to make her just as profitable as Whitney. It's likely they just sign anyone with a big voice like Whitney's but didn't bother to promote them above the R&B communities.

Timmy84 said:

Usually when I read about R&B artists and their struggles in the music industry, it's always more complex. Hiring incompetent managers, not taking care of their health, having families and choosing to take a break rather than release a new album, having to choose between making crossover records and "staying true" to their audience not knowing that "audience" can be downright fickle (as usually R&B audiences do tend to move to someone else quicker than pop and rock audiences) and even struggles with drugs. It no longer surprises me when I hear stories like Miki Howard's or even Billy Preston's. And Vesta definitely had some of those struggles which could explain why she was very much UNDER the radar after 1994.

Far too often, they are forced to take breaks because they can't get signed to a label. If you are over 35, and especially if you are a black female singer, the music business usually doesnt want anything to do with you. If you're not 25, don't look like Beyonce or sound like Rhianna, then you're pretty much screwed. The most you can hope for is to get signed to some indie label that's going to offer you zero promotion and hope that your CD (if it ever gets released) moves a few hundred copies. And as far as the artist independently releasing an album, far too often, that doesn't work out too well because most of them don't have the money for promotion and are not able to get the product out on the market. We all remember that fiasco with Prince, Chaka and Larry back in 1998 when hardly anyone knew they had projects out.

kitbradley said:

Timmy84 said:

Usually when I read about R&B artists and their struggles in the music industry, it's always more complex. Hiring incompetent managers, not taking care of their health, having families and choosing to take a break rather than release a new album, having to choose between making crossover records and "staying true" to their audience not knowing that "audience" can be downright fickle (as usually R&B audiences do tend to move to someone else quicker than pop and rock audiences) and even struggles with drugs. It no longer surprises me when I hear stories like Miki Howard's or even Billy Preston's. And Vesta definitely had some of those struggles which could explain why she was very much UNDER the radar after 1994.

Far too often, they are forced to take breaks because they can't get signed to a label. If you are over 35, and especially if you are a black female singer, the music business usually doesnt want anything to do with you. If you're not 25, don't look like Beyonce or sound like Rhianna, then you're pretty much screwed. The most you can hope for is to get signed to some indie label that's going to offer you zero promotion and hope that your CD (if it ever gets released) moves a few hundred copies. And as far as the artist independently releasing an album, far too often, that doesn't work out too well because most of them don't have the money for promotion and are not able to get the product out on the market. We all remember that fiasco with Prince, Chaka and Larry back in 1998 when hardly anyone knew they had projects out.

Real true man. Real true.

kitbradley said:

scriptgirl said:

The problem with Vesta is this: she came out and hit her peak at a time where there were a whole lof of other rnb divas out tere: Miki Howard, Regina Belle, Lisa Stansfield, Shirley Murdock,Me'lisa Morgan, Karen White. A lot of those women, while uncommonly talented, had hits at the same time, were marketed to the same audience and they sounded alike. I mean, to this day, I lump Vesta, Regina and Miki together and can't tell them apart vocally. And it's not like the success of these women was spread out over a number of years-we are talking 86-90 and from what I remember hazily, while Vesta was well known and had hits, she was never a huge radio star or that big of a fan favorite, although I could be wrong

What someone really needs to look into it is why, after 1990, the age of the diva just died out. From then on, it was rap, new jack and neo soul. To this day, you still don't have a gamut of female singers tearing it up like you did in the late 80s.

Wow! That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say Vesta and Regina sound alike. And no, Vesta, Miki and Regina worked with different producers. Their music didn't sound even remotely the same.

I look at many of the younger female vocalists that have been around collecting hits for the past 10 years or so and many of them, I can't tell one from the other. I hear very little originality. Like I can't tell Beyonce's voice apart from a lot of the other young girls who are out here singing. They are all working with a lot of the same people. There's a certain sound that sells and they all want in on it. They are all using the same recylcled hip-hop beats and silly, meaningless lyrics. But, that's what the young kids want to hear.

Vesta's problem, like Meli'sa, Miki, Regina and Shirley, they did not have a Clive Davis behind them. IMO, Vesta and Meli'sa were WAY better singers than Whitney. But, their sound was too black. Clive was able to tame Whitney's voice to be better suited for Pop radio. She was marketed very heavily outside of black radio. The others were marketed only to black radio, and even then, the marketing was always half-assede. It's a fact that labesl do not spend the same kind of bread to market & promote an R&B artist as they do a Pop artist. I've heard this from a number of people over the years. Whitney was lucky enough to have the Pop label stamped on her music right away. Vesta had some amazing material to work with. She just didn't hit because her label/management decided not to expose her to the masses.

I have to go back and listen to their music. Another issue with Vestar re crossing over is that she didn't fit the white standard of beauty as much as Whitney did

scriptgirl said:

I have to go back and listen to their music. Another issue with Vestar re crossing over is that she didn't fit the white standard of beauty as much as Whitney did

Oh I know. That definately played a big part. Vesta was a full-figured gal when she made her solo debut back in '86. Full figured black women were never in any way, shape or form crossed-over to Pop radio. Look at Cheryl Lynn. Despite her having a slew of hits between 1981 & 1989, the massess don't know she recorded anything outside of "Got To Be Real". And the only reason why white folks know that song is because it was such a huge Disco hit. Other than that one song, CBS did not even attempt to promote her outside of black radio.

kitbradley said:

scriptgirl said:

I have to go back and listen to their music. Another issue with Vestar re crossing over is that she didn't fit the white standard of beauty as much as Whitney did

Oh I know. That definately played a big part. Vesta was a full-figured gal when she made her solo debut back in '86. Full figured black women were never in any way, shape or form crossed-over to Pop radio. Look at Cheryl Lynn. Despite her having a slew of hits between 1981 & 1989, the massess don't know she recorded anything outside of "Got To Be Real". And the only reason why white folks know that song is because it was such a huge Disco hit. Other than that one song, CBS did not even attempt to promote her outside of black radio.

kitbradley said:

Other than a select few (Anita, Sade, Micheal and a few more), I've often found that American R&B audiences don't maintain the some kind of loyalty to their artists like Rock audiences do. If you don't have a major hit on the charts, you are forgotten. I can't say the same for a lot of Pop/Rock acts that are not actively recording. Despite not being on the charts, many of those acts continue to draw decent sized crowds at their shows. This is why when so many R&B artists are disgarded here in American, they end up do a lot of stuff in Europre, where they tend to be more appreciated.

This is one of my favorite songs from Vesta. I remember running around as a teenager singing this, not realizing she was singing about having an orgasm!

Ecstasy of Whodini pointed this out about 14 years ago in Vibe Magazine.

Timmy84 said:

^ If I can be blunt, maybe that was the problem with why Vesta wasn't "fully appreciated" as Shanice said because of her sounding so much like Chaka. Also there's a habit that maybe like so many of them, she refused to do POP music. Most of them with Regina Belle being somewhat of an exception (least with "A Whole New World" and "If I Could") were OK doing the R&B and jazz music because they grew up surrounding by it. Vocally they were different but musically?

Even with that there was no reason for Vesta to be unappreciated when you consider Barry White

and Isaac Hayes sounding alike for years and Aaron Hall sounding like Charlie Wilson and R Kelly

coming on the scene sounding like both.

phunkdaddy said:

Timmy84 said:

^ If I can be blunt, maybe that was the problem with why Vesta wasn't "fully appreciated" as Shanice said because of her sounding so much like Chaka. Also there's a habit that maybe like so many of them, she refused to do POP music. Most of them with Regina Belle being somewhat of an exception (least with "A Whole New World" and "If I Could") were OK doing the R&B and jazz music because they grew up surrounding by it. Vocally they were different but musically?

Even with that there was no reason for Vesta to be unappreciated when you consider Barry White

and Isaac Hayes sounding alike for years and Aaron Hall sounding like Charlie Wilson and R Kelly

coming on the scene sounding like both.

You know how the double standards go especially with male and female artists.

[Edited 9/27/11 19:16pm]

Charles Karel Bouley

KGO Radio and Syndicated Host, Stand Up, Entertainer, Author, Actor, Dog Walker

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A Diva Is Gone: Vesta, You'll Be Missed

I needed someone to round out the guest list and as always, she was there for me, being a friend, being a Diva. My Diva. And that laugh was heard a lot that night. She was in a great mood. She was optimistic about her future.

The Vesta I know is the woman I talked to from the pay phone at the Frat House gay bar in Garden Grove, CA for hours because I was bored inside and would ring her up. She's the woman who nicknamed my late husband Andrew "Pinky" because he "was so white, he's pink..." She named him this right after we had picked him up in her limo. She had just sung the National Anthem at the Laker Game and I was with her. Andrew didn't want to go, so we picked him up afterwards so they could meet. He got in the car and shook her hand, and asked if her jewels were real (they were). She laughed, he didn't get it, I laughed, suddenly it was fun and she called him Pinky. It stuck. She's the mom worried about her daughter, and later, her grandchildren. She's the woman in the shower getting ready belting out a song with me as I wait outside the door chatting with her about this or that as she prepared. She's the woman backstage at Soul Train busting up on the floor with me because their in room food service was all KFC and she was going to be damned if she was going to mess up her face with KFC but damn it smelled good!

She was my friend who happened to have an incredible voice. She was potential unrealized. Vesta was happy but not satisfied. She wanted more. She wanted more hit records, more tours, more albums. She wasn't done.

And that's why I'm crying now and have been all day. My friend V wasn't done yet. She wanted to see her grandchildren grow up. She wanted to record, to act, to sing and dance and be herself again and still. She had so much more to give.

I won't care what the results say you died from V, I will only care that you're gone. I will miss my friend first and the music second because you may have started in my life as a voice on a CD but became so much more.

Vesta Williams was one of the greatest singers in R&B and music, period. And I was lucky enough to call her a friend. Her voice is now silenced but her drive and passion live on forever in her music and videos.

phunkdaddy said:

Timmy84 said:

^ If I can be blunt, maybe that was the problem with why Vesta wasn't "fully appreciated" as Shanice said because of her sounding so much like Chaka. Also there's a habit that maybe like so many of them, she refused to do POP music. Most of them with Regina Belle being somewhat of an exception (least with "A Whole New World" and "If I Could") were OK doing the R&B and jazz music because they grew up surrounding by it. Vocally they were different but musically?

Even with that there was no reason for Vesta to be unappreciated when you consider Barry White

and Isaac Hayes sounding alike for years and Aaron Hall sounding like Charlie Wilson and R Kelly

coming on the scene sounding like both.

Vesta did mention during an interview a while ago that she was turned down by several labels before signing with A&M. They would tell her, "You have a great voice, but you sound too much like that Chaka girl".

But, I don't think that had anything to do with Vesta's problem as far as not being appreciated. there have been many female vocalists that sounded nothing like Chaka who had great voices and great material but they simply did not receive the proper exposure. Again, is doesn't matter what or who you sound like, if you don't have the right people backing you, it simply doesn't make any difference. If your music isn't out there for the masses to hear, you are going to be unappreciated.

And I do agree with the fact that there is a lot of sexism and double-standards in R&B music. In general, female artists don't sell as well as male artists and they don't get the same exposure. There are exceptions but, most of the time, this is the case. An example of male vs. female exposure, I was listening to a local urban adult contemporary station this past Sunday. I tuned in for about 3 hours or so. 70% of what was being played were songs by MALE artists. The only females I heard during those three hours were Jill Scott, Anita Baker, Nippy, Lauryn Hill and Sade. That's it! All of the rest were males. And some of them were being played multiple times. So yeah, radio and the public tend to prefer male artists in R&B music. It may have something to do with the fact that music is typically more geared towards and marketed to women? So that's why male artists receive so much more exposure? I don't know. But, it ain't right.

Someone's asking for $1000 for Vesta's "4U" CD on amazon. Boy, have those prices for her CDs skyrocketed!

[Edited 9/28/11 12:57pm]

I just sold my 4 U and Special CDs last month for a couple bucks each! They were sooo New Jack, which hasn't aged well at all. I might have to buy them back though if they are still at the record store.

kitbradley said:

Timmy84 said:

Usually when I read about R&B artists and their struggles in the music industry, it's always more complex. Hiring incompetent managers, not taking care of their health, having families and choosing to take a break rather than release a new album, having to choose between making crossover records and "staying true" to their audience not knowing that "audience" can be downright fickle (as usually R&B audiences do tend to move to someone else quicker than pop and rock audiences) and even struggles with drugs. It no longer surprises me when I hear stories like Miki Howard's or even Billy Preston's. And Vesta definitely had some of those struggles which could explain why she was very much UNDER the radar after 1994.

Far too often, they are forced to take breaks because they can't get signed to a label. If you are over 35, and especially if you are a black female singer, the music business usually doesnt want anything to do with you. If you're not 25, don't look like Beyonce or sound like Rhianna, then you're pretty much screwed. The most you can hope for is to get signed to some indie label that's going to offer you zero promotion and hope that your CD (if it ever gets released) moves a few hundred copies. And as far as the artist independently releasing an album, far too often, that doesn't work out too well because most of them don't have the money for promotion and are not able to get the product out on the market. We all remember that fiasco with Prince, Chaka and Larry back in 1998 when hardly anyone knew they had projects out.

PREACH!!!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

scriptgirl said:

The problem with Vesta is this: she came out and hit her peak at a time where there were a whole lof of other rnb divas out tere: Miki Howard, Regina Belle, Lisa Stansfield, Shirley Murdock,Me'lisa Morgan, Karen White. A lot of those women, while uncommonly talented, had hits at the same time, were marketed to the same audience and they sounded alike. I mean, to this day, I lump Vesta, Regina and Miki together and can't tell them apart vocally. And it's not like the success of these women was spread out over a number of years-we are talking 86-90 and from what I remember hazily, while Vesta was well known and had hits, she was never a huge radio star or that big of a fan favorite, although I could be wrong

What someone really needs to look into it is why, after 1990, the age of the diva just died out. From then on, it was rap, new jack and neo soul. To this day, you still don't have a gamut of female singers tearing it up like you did in the late 80s.

You can't tell Regina Belle, Mikki Howard and Vesta apart?

I was thinking the same thing. I can pick their voices out in a lineup. They all had distinctive voices.

funkyslsistah said:

Charles Karel Bouley

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A Diva Is Gone: Vesta, You'll Be Missed

Posted: 9/23/11 03:45 PM ET

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OK, this is a hard one, so please indulge me. When Farrah Fawcett died, when Michael, Tena Marie, Amy Winehouse, I took to the computer and posted columns about them here at the HuffingtonPost and elsewhere. But today? Today it's personal.

My good friend Vesta Williams is gone and I simply can't believe it. We just spoke last week about her website; I registered VestaWilliams.com a long time ago for her since I was a little more web savvy. My nephew Jake McGrath designed her original site; much of which is there today. In fact, I just uploaded a new index page for her website, vestawilliams.com with the notice of her death. How on Earth is this possible?

I met Vesta in 1988, 23 years ago, when she was signed to A&M Records and finishing her "4 U" Album. Her first, "Vesta" had the infectious single "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," the funky "Don't You Blow A Good Thing" and the slamming "Something About You."

She was a singer's singer, literally. Many had called upon her for her talents. She performed on Sting's smash "We'll Be Together;" yes, it is her on the backgrounds wailing out "Together! We'll be together tonight!" Chaka Khan used her for background and vocal support both on record and on tour; an artist with whom V would often be compared. In fact, she sang with a who's who of R&B and later Jazz greats as well. Everyone in R&B knew or knew of Vesta and that voice.

I wrote her bio for A&M for the "4 U" album and began working with her manager E.J. Jackson of Jackson Limousine in Los Angeles as a freelancer. I was writing at the time for the R&B Report Magazine in Burbank, an R&B Music Industry Trade Publication that would introduce me to some of the best friends and best music I would ever have or hear. Vesta was one of them. From the moment I interviewed her for the magazine I wanted to be involved in making that voice a success; in the world hearing her.

When I left the magazine, I went to work for Vesta and E.J Jackson at Jackson/Jones Management, her management company at the time. Suddenly I was in her world every day in so many ways that we instantly became friends; a friendship that would last over 20 years.

I was there at the meetings when E.J. would be fighting for Vesta's piece of the A&M pie for music videos or tour support at t time when Janet Jackson and Sting were taking a lot of the resources. It was through Vesta that I met Teena Clarke, who would go on to write one of Vesta's biggest hits, "Congratulations." Clarke is a little Southern White girl, not exactly the creative force behind one of the most soulful R&B ballads ever recorded one would expect and that's what made it beautiful. They had met through AdMusic, an agency that specializes in the music for the ad campaigns we all see on TV and hear on radio; jingles, little one minute songs. Vesta has sung endorsements for many a product, from Baskin Robbins to McDonald's, Nike and on down the line.

"4 U" and "Congratulations" grew Vesta's stardom in the R&B world and her star began to shine. She would co-host on BET and her strong comedic sense became apparent. Her stage shows were two-thirds singing and one-third tell it like it is comedy and impersonations. Watching her do Tina Turner live was side splitting. We were once at the now defunct "Strand" in Redondo Beach, CA and her comedy became such a hit that show ran nearly three hours. She made guest appearances on many a show, and was a favorite of Arsenio Hall's. We'd often find ourselves in that green room. Her concerts always were sold out and celebrities often dropped by. Some literally; Wesley Snipes and she were wrestling once in her dressing room on the floor as we were about to do a meet and greet after a show in Los Angeles.

Meet and greet's, how Vesta loved them. She loved meeting her audience. When she was larger, weighed more, she loved empowering the bigger ladies to look fierce. She always did. She wasn't afraid of her size when she was big, she knew she worked it. Privately, yes, she wanted to be thinner, healthier. She also knew what it took to compete, she found out the hard way.

After the success of "4 U" Vesta began work on the "Special" album. I remember going to Harold and Bell's sea food restaurant on Jefferson in Los Angeles to celebrate the advance and ability to finally begin. That album would yield three singles, the title track "Special;" the duet with Jazz saxophonist Najee "I'll Be Good To You" and "Do Ya" a track my friend Michael Eckart would later go on to remix as a dance single.

Vesta had been working not only on the album but on herself and her weight. Behind the scenes there were some tumultuous times; Vesta, like most artists, had her demons. Not all of her relationships were rosy, she was a single mom raising a daughter (Tandia) competing in the rough and tumble world of being on a major label. Label politics coupled with a personal relationship with her manager at the time often made for stressful times. But it all came together for the show.

My late husband Andrew Howard and I came up with the idea for both the "Special" video and the "Do Ya" video. In the first, I thought it would be cool if Vesta did a Woody Allen, being in a fabulous B&W movie on screen in one situation, and then walking out of the screen in to the real world in living color. For "Do Ya" we had written a more contemporary storyline, with Vesta at the Hollywood Bowl as it desconstructs around her. "Special" was shot in Los Angeles/Silverlake area and "Do Ya" was shot in New York City, directed by a young Paris Barclay and featured Slam, the dancer who had just created a huge stir in the Madonna "Vogue" video.

It was big budgets, and big risks. Vesta was competing at the highest of levels for success in R&B and was making it. Yet, she never fully caught on and crossed in to Pop like so many do. Was it her weight? Was it that her voice was so big? Was it material? Promotional budgets or lack thereof..what? How many times she, and those around her, would ask those questions. Here was a fiercely talented, vivacious woman, a beautiful woman no matter her size, once that could SING. She had adoring fans world wide, yet that next level was always just around the corner.

"Special" did well enough to get Vesta another on A&M "Everything-n-More" and also opened up Vesta to the world of Jazz again via the duet with Najee. "Everything-n-More" would be her last album for A&M.

I left before that album dropped, but remained her good friend. She went on to Polygram in 1998 for the album "Relationships" and then Shananchie for 2007's "Distant Lover." That would be her last commercially released album; although, she was working on a new album and a first single had already dropped with a video this year, in 2011. She was always flying off to do a track, working with a producer back East.

In much of the new century Vesta spent her time at Jazz festivals performing with many Jazz greats as well as at R&B Jams and live music clubs. She also continued trying her hand at acting and comedy, and even did a stint in major market radio. She was good at so much of what she did. She wasn't just a powerhouse voice, she was a charismatic woman, a vibrant, alive creation with a laugh...oh, that laugh. Anyone lucky enough to have heard it knows what I mean. It was a heartfelt, infectious laugh from the heart, from the soul. Like all that she did.

She came to my home for a filming in 2008 of a pilot I was doing called "The Food Group."

I needed someone to round out the guest list and as always, she was there for me, being a friend, being a Diva. My Diva. And that laugh was heard a lot that night. She was in a great mood. She was optimistic about her future.

The Vesta I know is the woman I talked to from the pay phone at the Frat House gay bar in Garden Grove, CA for hours because I was bored inside and would ring her up. She's the woman who nicknamed my late husband Andrew "Pinky" because he "was so white, he's pink..." She named him this right after we had picked him up in her limo. She had just sung the National Anthem at the Laker Game and I was with her. Andrew didn't want to go, so we picked him up afterwards so they could meet. He got in the car and shook her hand, and asked if her jewels were real (they were). She laughed, he didn't get it, I laughed, suddenly it was fun and she called him Pinky. It stuck. She's the mom worried about her daughter, and later, her grandchildren. She's the woman in the shower getting ready belting out a song with me as I wait outside the door chatting with her about this or that as she prepared. She's the woman backstage at Soul Train busting up on the floor with me because their in room food service was all KFC and she was going to be damned if she was going to mess up her face with KFC but damn it smelled good!

She was my friend who happened to have an incredible voice. She was potential unrealized. Vesta was happy but not satisfied. She wanted more. She wanted more hit records, more tours, more albums. She wasn't done.

And that's why I'm crying now and have been all day. My friend V wasn't done yet. She wanted to see her grandchildren grow up. She wanted to record, to act, to sing and dance and be herself again and still. She had so much more to give.

I won't care what the results say you died from V, I will only care that you're gone. I will miss my friend first and the music second because you may have started in my life as a voice on a CD but became so much more.

Vesta Williams was one of the greatest singers in R&B and music, period. And I was lucky enough to call her a friend. Her voice is now silenced but her drive and passion live on forever in her music and videos.

This gave me chills. The Frat House is the bar I came out at. I talked on that payphone many times. to think, Vesta's voice once flowed through it

*Industry veteran Norwood Young has released a statement addressing some reports surrounding the death of his close friend Vesta Williams, including speculation that she may have tried to take her life.

The singer’s body was found Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011 at approximately 4:30 p.m. in a Los Angeles hotel, where, according to Young, she was staying temporarily while transitioning to a new home. “The manager of the hotel, Mr. Seth Neblett, also a friend of Ms. Williams, discovered her body,” Young says in his statement. “Mr. Neblett confirms that authorities stated that one bottle (2/3 empty) of a sleeping aid was discovered on the scene on the nightstand next to the bed.” In an exclusive interview with EURweb, Young explained why he didn’t believe initial reports that her death may have been a suicide. He said her zest for life and Christian values were too strong, and she was too excited about her upcoming “Unsung” special and participation in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s “Divas Simply Singing” event to benefit AIDS charities.

Young adds: “Two years ago, I witnessed Vesta experiencing a debilitating seizure, and this would be a likely scenario, and I wish people would stop fabricating and spreading hurtful rumors.”

As previously reported, funeral services will be held at West Angeles Church of God in Christ (3045 S. Crenshaw Blvd., North Campus, Los Angeles) on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

http://www.eurweb.com/201...m-seizure/

kitbradley said:

*Industry veteran Norwood Young has released a statement addressing some reports surrounding the death of his close friend Vesta Williams, including speculation that she may have tried to take her life.

The singer’s body was found Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011 at approximately 4:30 p.m. in a Los Angeles hotel, where, according to Young, she was staying temporarily while transitioning to a new home. “The manager of the hotel, Mr. Seth Neblett, also a friend of Ms. Williams, discovered her body,” Young says in his statement. “Mr. Neblett confirms that authorities stated that one bottle (2/3 empty) of a sleeping aid was discovered on the scene on the nightstand next to the bed.” In an exclusive interview with EURweb, Young explained why he didn’t believe initial reports that her death may have been a suicide. He said her zest for life and Christian values were too strong, and she was too excited about her upcoming “Unsung” special and participation in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s “Divas Simply Singing” event to benefit AIDS charities.

Young adds: “Two years ago, I witnessed Vesta experiencing a debilitating seizure, and this would be a likely scenario, and I wish people would stop fabricating and spreading hurtful rumors.”

As previously reported, funeral services will be held at West Angeles Church of God in Christ (3045 S. Crenshaw Blvd., North Campus, Los Angeles) on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

http://www.eurweb.com/201...m-seizure/

I'm likely to believe this over suicide.

Coverage of Vesta's funeral in Jet:

http://www.jetmag.com/Ent...Oct_4_2011