Vesta Williams
R&B singer, Vesta Williams, was found dead in an El Segundo, California hotel room, with pharmaceutical pill bottles strewn in the unit, some of which were empty. Williams made her debut in the 1980s and was bar none one of the best female vocalists of the era.
Her soulful voice became an instant favorite of many in the black community. Williams was mostly known for the mega R&B hit "Congratulations" which made her a household name. Black women all over America took to that song that was very popular. However, the charts never truly reflected the impact the song made.
Williams was from the time when Billboard discriminated against minorities and country artists, doing its level best to keep them off the main singles and albums charts, relegated to small specialty ones, designed to pigeonhole people. It wasn't until a change to the charts in the late 1990s that more singers from the aforementioned genres began topping their charts. Otherwise, "Congratulations" and "Special" would have placed quite high on the Billboard singles charts. The audience was there, but Billboard was not listening to them.
Williams was one of those artists that was not considered mainstream enough to be marketed in a certain way in order to crossover. The deals available to black stars today, simply were not present 25-years-ago. As a result, the exposure was not there to reach wider audiences.
When you think of what is in the mainstream today, being force-fed to the public, via the likes of Rihanna, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Cassie, Kesha and others like them, who simply can't sing or perform well, it is really ironic that an artist like Williams did not receive even 1/10th of that exposure or those opportunities, though she could sing all of them under the table. She never got her due and this is a very sad end to her story. The Judiciary Report sends its condolences to her family.
