UB Black Music Month Spotlight: UB & Shanice Reflect on Vesta Williams

Vesta Williams released her debut album on A&M Records in 1986.

The label head John McClain was on his Clive Davis, with building a roster of talented black women. Which included Janet Jackson, Shanice Wilson and Brenda Russell.

Vesta scored a big hit with “Congratulations,” a song about a woman who is distraught upon learning that her former lover is getting married. “Congratulations,” with its vocal acrobatics and dramatic story, became a talent show staple. Her performance of the song on the “The Arsenio Hall Show” earned Vesta a standing ovation, one of a handful of ovations in the show’s history.

Vesta co-wrote “Congratulations” with Tena Clark and Gary Prim, as well as co-writing seven other tracks on her 1989 album release “Vesta 4 U.”

Of “Congratulations,” Vesta stated, “Tena wanted a situation where ‘congratulations’ is the last word you’d expect to hear. And so we came up with a concept about having it be about a woman who lost her love. She runs into the church and the only thing she could say is congratulations – unless she ran in and blew up the place, which would have ended the song rather abruptly.”

“Congratulations” was big, but Vesta‘s biggest charting single was released 30 years ago, “Special” from her album of the same name. The 1991 single from her third album reached #2 on Billboard‘s R&B chart.

“Special” is arguably her best album. Vesta also received co-producer credits on the album as well.

Vesta released six albums and one posthumous album entitled “Seven.” That was she finishing at the time of since her death.

Her other hits included “I’ll Be Good to You” with Najee, “Sweet, Sweet Love” and “Don’t Blow a Good Thing.”

Vesta recorded with a list of greats including; Sting, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan and Fourplay. In 1996 Vesta appeared in a McDonald’s commercial with Al Jarreau.

During her music career Vesta recorded songs for films as well, including Soul Man and Mississippi Burning, and the theme from the television mini-series Women Of Brewster Place.

She has also been the singing voice behind numerous TV commercials for CocaCola. McDonald’s, Revlon, Bud weiser, Reebok and Nike/Air Jordan.

Vesta had one of the biggest personalities you would ever meet and acted as well. The singer made her TV debut playing herself on the short-lived TV comedy “Throb.” Later Vesta played Monica on the 90’s sitcom Sister, Sister and appeared in the 1993 film Posse.’

Vesta was well known for demonstrating her celebrity impersonation talents, mimicking popular singers. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then her onstage impersonations were indeed a highlight. Not all of her impressions were taken well, by some female artists.

Vesta said at the time; “Everyone has their own singing style, including me. I think it’s a challenge to try and duplicate those qualities other singers have. It’s all in good taste and the audience enjoys it.”

She even took those talents to Video Soul, while hosting the show several times in Donnie Simpson‘s absence. Vesta is someone we at UB likes to call, the original K. Michelle. Vesta not only would mimic other female singers, but take shots at them as well all in fun. On one episode of Video Soul, she referred to Cherrelle and Pebbles, as the “singing cousins.” While alluding to the fact, she didn’t think either could actually sing.

Vesta was without a doubt, a big ball of fun and joy, with talents that could fill a stadium.

In the 90’s, Vesta made headlines for her dramatic weight loss. She told EBONY that she started to rapidly gain weight when her singing career began to falter. Williams, who was 5-foot-3, eventually reached a size 26. She said her size was the reason she lost her recording contract.

“When I lost my record deal and my phone wasn’t ringing, I realized that I had to reassess who Vesta was and figure out what was going wrong,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t my singing ability. So it had to be that I was expendable because I didn’t have the right look.”

The singer went on to lose 100 lbs, and got down down to a size 6, while finding something of a second career as a songwriter and session singer. In the years before her death, she had become an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.

Shanice remembers Vesta with UB; “Vesta and I got discovered around the same time. John McClain discovered me and Vesta and signed us both to A&M around the same time. So I’ve known Vesta the entire time I’ve been in the business. I use to look up to her and tell her all the time because she was so…like I said I’m shy, but she was the opposite of me. She was very outgoing and between her songs she would do stand-up comedy at her shows. She was really bold, even vocally. I’m starting to come out of my shell now, but I’ve always been afraid to do adlibs off the top of my head. Like if I’m sitting in the audience and someone comes up to me with a mic and they’re like sing, I feel like I’m going to pass out because I get really scared. And I use to tell Vesta I wish I could be more like you, because when you get on stage you’re not afraid. And I would ask how do you do those adlibs like that, can you teach me to sing like you. And she would say, girl please I don’t have to teach you how to sing.”

Shanice went on to say “So I remember we had to do this show for Robert Townsend and they put me on stage with Vesta and we had to adlib back and forth. Now I’m shy about adlibbing, but Vesta wasn’t. So she was coming up to me and doing it in my face, she was trying to get me to open up because she knew I was scared. I just kind of stood there like oh my god! Thank god it was a taping because I just froze and she was singing her butt off. So my mom ran backstage and was like Shanice, you have to stop being so scared. Just get back out there and if you can’t think of an adlib, just hit a high note and hold it, just hold it! So when we did the second take, I opened up and I hit this high note and I just held it, until I felt like I was going to pass out (laughs). And Vesta’s eyes got real big and she was like wow (laughs)! But I’ve always looked up to Vesta, I would always ask her for vocal lessons, because I’ve always been a fan. And her voice was so powerful and her personality was just so bold and out going. We use to go on double dates, me and Flex and her and her boyfriend at the time. I definitely miss her. I’m just so mad that when you have kids and things you just get so busy in life, sometimes you don’t spend much time with people. Because you’re so caught up in all of the other things that you’re doing. I just wish that I spent more time with her towards the end.”

Vesta Williams, passed away at the age of 53 years old.

Her last public appearance was a month before she passed, Vesta appeared on The Mo’Nique Show & performed her hit R&B single “Congratulations.”

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