UB Celebrates: Vesta Williams ‘Vesta 4 U’ 35th Anniversary

Mary Vesta Williams, possessed one of the biggest and brassiest voices in R&B and Contemporary Jazz.

Vesta Williams released her debut album on A&M Records in 1986. The album featured the singles “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and “Don’t Blow a Good Thing.”

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.

Following the marginally successful debut, Vesta returned to the studio with a batch of songs she penned, along with Attala Zane Giles, Eric Daniels, Tena Clark, Gary Prim, and Billy Osbourne.

Those fruitful sessions resulted in her sophomore gold album “Vesta 4 U,” released 35 years ago today on November 21st, 1988.

The first two singles “Sweet, Sweet Love” reached #4 on the Billboard R&B chart and the follow-up “Congratulations” reached #5 R&B and #55 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The single received massive airplay, and Vesta‘s popularity soared.

“Congratulations,” is 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 1988 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.”

A few other singles followed, and as audiences became introduced to her multi-octave voice, they also got a glimpse of her comedic talents.

When asked during an appearance on the Arsenio Hall show if she had written “Congratulations” based on a personal experience, the songstress replied “Oh No Honey, if that ever happened to me, I’d probably burn the church down, or something.”

The final singles releases were “4 U” reaching, a Top 10 R&B hit and “How You Feel.”

With the success of the album, Vesta had finally arrived and in 1989, she recorded with legendary saxophonist Najee. On his 1990 “Tokyo Blue” album, with a stunning lead vocal by Vesta on the single “I’ll Be Good To You.”

After touring with Chaka Khan during the early 80’s, Vesta met producer David Crawford through Joe Sample (pianist of the Jazz Crusaders), for whom she’d recorded the original vocals for “The Survivor” in 1984. Vesta‘s vocals were replaced with Phyllis Hyman‘s, due to MCA.

Following her productive meeting with David, Vesta soon signed a record contract with A&M Records in 1986, which resulted in four releases. With her self-titled debut, in 1986. The album’s eleven songs, were produced by Bryan Loren, Gary Taylor, and David Crawford.

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.

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.

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.”

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with Vesta’s “Vesta 4 U!”