9/24/11

Details have Emerged in the Death of R&B Chanteuse Vesta Williams



UPDATE: Details emerge in the death of Vesta Williams and also her upcoming “UNSUNG” episode.
Details have emerged regarding that death of R&B singer Vesta Williams, who was found dead in her California hotel room.
R&B Chanteuse singer Vesta Williams, 53, was found dead in her El Segundo, CA hotel room Thursday night.
According to Los Angeles County coroner's Capt. John Kades, Vesta was found dead at 6:15pm on Thursday night and officials also discovered several empty prescription pill bottles.

Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an American R&B singer. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was sometimes simply billed as Vesta from the 1990s onwards.[2] Although Williams never had any albums certified gold nor any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she scored six Top 10 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Williams was known for the hits "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," "Sweet Sweet Love," "Congratulations" and "Special.".

Norwood Young says he was in the process of booking his close friend Vesta Williams as the first guest for his new Internet talk show set to premiere next month when he heard the shocking news that her body was discovered Thursday in an El Segundo, CA hotel room.
“Vesta was like my sister. We’ve been friends for over 15 years and we worked together, sang together, partied together, loved together, and we spoke quite often as family does,” Young told EURWeb’s Lee Bailey in an exclusive phone interview.
With an episode of TV One’s “Unsung” in the works, Norwood said the powerhouse singer “was at another highpoint in her life” when she passed. While TMZ.com is reporting of “multiple bottles of prescription pills – some empty” – found in her hotel room, and that her death is being treated as either an accident or suicide, Norwood insists this was “absolutely not” a suicide. 

Norwood said Williams was living at the hotel where her body was found because she was in the process of moving from her apartment to a new place. He said he knew something was wrong on Sunday when she failed to return his phone call as quickly as she normally does.
In the audio below, Norwood explains Vesta’s excitement over shooting “Unsung” and details the timeline of events leading up to her death.
Listen:Norwood speaks on Vesta and the future!

Vesta Williams was scheduled to participate in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s 21st DIVAS Simply Singing event next month when she passed away.


Deeply saddened at the news, Ralph stated that “We were thrilled in anticipation of having Vesta join the cast of this year’s 21st annual Divas Simply Singing! AIDS benefit concert. Her passing came as a great shock and we share our heart felt condolences with her family and fans around the world.
‘A planned tribute was in the works for Teena Marie, who passed away suddenly last year after her performance in the 20th DIVAS, which was her final public performance. We will now pay tribute to both of these outstanding artists.”

Other scheduled performers include Kelly Price, Jennifer Lewis, Frenchie Davis, and Niecy Nash. There will also be a reunion of Broadway’s original “Dreamgirls” cast, which includes Ralph, Jennifer Holiday and Loretta Devine.
DIVAS Simply Singing! takes place Saturday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 West 8th Street, Los Angeles. Tickets range from $35 to $250. For tickets and information, go to www.brownpapertickets.com, call (800) 838-3006, or contact the Wilshire Ebell Theatre box office (323) 931-1277.

VIDEO FLASHBACK; Vesta Williams - Don't Blow A Good Thing

For now, law enforcement is treating the death as either an accident or suicide. A cause of death will likely be determined after a coroner's examination has taken place, which could take 6 weeks.

All so so sad! 
R.I.P Lady Vesta and THANKS for your contributions to the R&B Music industry!

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