'This could be a drug overdose' -- Los Angeles County coroner's Capt. John Kades
*EUR is deeply saddened to hear that singer Vesta Williams has passed away. She was 53
Los Angeles County coroner’s Capt. John Kades says Williams was found dead at 6:15 p.m. Thursday in an El Segundo hotel room. An autopsy will determine the cause of death, but Kades says “this could be a drug overdose.”
According to her listing in Wikipedia, Williams was born December 1, 1957 in Coshocton, Ohio. She was originally credited by her full name, but she has also been billed as Vesta since the 1990s.
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Although Williams never had any albums certified gold and never had any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she scored seven Top 20 R&B hits from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
Watch as Vesta performs her biggest hit, “Congratulations”:
dang. i loved her voice. in a lot of ways she reminded me of phyllis hyman. rare breeds. very attractive with voices that matched their beauty. rest in peace vesta.
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Totally agree, huey …
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For the life of me, I can’t remember any of her Singapur outside of the infamous song, “Congratulations” …
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DAMN!!!
RIP my sista. Another true talent gone.
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*dog-gone auto spell check* Can’t think of any SONG ….
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Oh wow, I’m sorry to hear that. I loved her voice and I remember her when she was on video soul visiting Donny Simpson. He had a time with her. She was flirtatious and friendly. He really enjoyed her spirit. She had lost alot weight and looked great as well. She was very pretty. I hope her death wasn’t drug related..she’ll be missed..
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I am so sorry to hear about Vesta’s passing. She had a beautiful voice and a sparkling personality. I remember going to see her nightclub act back in the 90′s. Rest in peace beautiful lady…
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48 yrs old??? she was still young. She had a very nice strong soulful voice. Godspeed Ms Williams.
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What happened to Vesta?? “Once bitten twice shy” Congratulations she even did the theme song for The Women of Brewster Place and that was powerful without any lyrics. My condolences to Vesta’s family. RIP Vesta
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So sad to hear about Vesta. Her debut with “Don’t Blow a Good Thing” and “I’m Coming Back” are still in rotation on my iPod. I saw her in the 80s at a club in Redondo Beach and she had comedic talents to compliment her vocals. She reminded me of a combination of Millie Jackson with Bette Midler on one hand for her comedic delivery and then had one of those big soulful voices like the ones that were popular in the 80s and 90s.
I will miss her. But as I said, I still play her debut quite often. I love “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “You Make Me Want to Love (Again)”. May she be at peace.
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This is shocking! So sad to read this. She seemed to have a great personality not to mention, she was also a dynamic singer. Wow! Only the good die young. May she rest in peace.
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I’m completely speechless!
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WOW!!. . . . .RIP and Welcome home.
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I first heard this sad news on the TJMS. I’m still in shock! This was one of my favorite vocalists from back in the day and she was on my list for TVOne’s Unsung because I felt she was truly an artist who was unsung. I was watching a rerun of The Women of Brewster Place and as I was listening to the theme song my thought was how great that sounded and Vesta did not use any words…just something similiar to scatting. It sounded better than a lot of performers whose fame was much greater than hers. She was hilarious…definitely had a sense of humor. She appeared on an episode of “Sister, Sister” after she lost weight. Funny how back in the day, she reminded you of Jackee Harry and here they finally were on screen together but Vesta had lost a large amount of weight. Condelences to the Williams’ family. Rest in Peace Sister Vesta. I tell ya, that heavenly choir keeps getting bigger and bigger!
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My condolensces to Vesta’s family. One of my favorite dance songs was by Vesta called “Don’t You Blow a Good Thing”. I used to spin it and remix it at the now defunct Wall Street Lounge in Baltimore. I’ll always remember that song
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Wow! This is so sad. God rest her soul. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends.
@AngieBee, yes, I would love to see ann “Unsung” episode devoted to Vesta. I’m sure it will happen now…
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So sad and quite shocking…She was not only a great singer but a funny talented lady. The first and last time I saw her was around Christmas 2004 on a tour with Najee and Will Downing…RIP
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Another one of the greats are gone…the last I saw of her was on the Monique Show. It’s a trip because you just never know…:( R.I.P.
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So sad to hear this news! I loved her back in the day when she sang the sound track for Soul Man, the story of a White boy who turned Black. Does anyone remember that movie? I often wondered why her career didn’t take off after the movie, but I guess show bizness is a strange bizness. Fanteeking
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I am so sad about this news. My favorite song no one has mentioned yet was Sweet, Sweet, Love. Godspeed Ms. Vesta. Condolences to your family and friends. Freddie J. is probably just heartbroken with your homegoing.
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She can now sing free. She was treated very shabbily by this shallow industry. RIP soul sista.
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