Edd’s MANtra: RIP Vesta Williams

Details are pretty sketchy right now, but I’m sad to announce that we’ve reportedly lost another soul star. According to Twitter and examiner.com, ’80s R&B star Vesta Williams was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel. She was 53.


Vesta might not have had the lasting appeal of luminaries like Whitney Houston and Sade but she certainly had her share of hits. She paid her dues in the early ’80s as a session musicians, working alongside legends like Chaka Khan, Stephanie Mills and Gladys Knight. She received a contract with A&M Records and released her debut, Vesta, in 1986. That album featured her first hit, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”


Two more albums followed, which contained some of her more memorable work. Those included “Congratulations,” her sad tale of lost love, on Vesta 4 U and my favorite, “Special,” the title track of her 1991 album.


In 2007 she released Distant Lover, a cover album that paid homage to such greats as Stevie Wonder and Deniece Williams.


Vesta has left us, but her voice will never be silenced. If you aren’t familiar with Vesta, take a moment to get to know one of R&B’s most underrated performers.