VESTA ~ The Tragic Loss of One of The MOST Skilled Vocalists To Ever Sing Into A Mic

Vesta (Williams), R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 53

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: September 24, 2011

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Vesta Williams, a rhythm and blues singer and later an actress who had hits in the 1980s with “Don’t Blow a Good Thing” and “Congratulations,” was found dead on Thursday in a hotel room here. She was 53.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images for N.A.A.C.P.

The rhythm and blues singer Vesta Williams last year.

The cause may have been a drug overdose, said Capt. John Kades of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Ms. Williams had hits with “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” “Sweet, Sweet Love” and the torch song “Congratulations,” in which she emotionally bids goodbye to her former lover, who is about to marry someone else, on his wedding day. (“I thought it would have been me/Standin’ here with you.”)

She also appeared in movies and on television. She was a saloon singer in the Mario Van Peebles movie “Posse” in 1993, and she had a recurring role on the television situation comedy “Sister, Sister,” playing the actress Jackee Harry’s best friend, Monica.

Ms. Williams’s initial success in the music industry came as a background singer for Chaka Khan, Anita Baker and Sting, among others. She released her first album, “Vesta,” in 1986.

Standing 5-feet-3, she gained weight in the 1990s, ballooning to a size 26, then went on a dramatic weight loss program, losing 100 pounds and getting down to a size 6.

She told Ebony magazine in 1996 that she began gaining weight rapidly after her singing career started to falter. She blamed her size for the loss of 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.”

She went on to become an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.

Mary Vesta Williams was born on Dec. 1, 1957, to a disc jockey in Coshocton, Ohio. She is survived by an adult daughter.

Ms. Williams had been scheduled to perform on Oct. 22 at the 21st annual “DIVAS Simply Singing!” concert in Los Angeles, held to promote AIDS and HIV awareness. The show will pay tribute to her and another soul singer, Teena Marie, who died last December.

A version of this article appeared in print on September 24, 2011, on page D8 of the New York edition with the headline: Vesta Williams, 53; R&B Singer-Actress.