R&B singer Vesta Williams found dead in Calif.

(AP) — Big-voiced R&B diva Vesta Williams, perhaps best-known for her 1980s hits "Don't Blow A Good Thing" and "Congratulations," has been found dead of a possible drug overdose in a Southern California hotel room, coroner's investigators said Friday. She was 53.




Williams was found dead at 6:15 p.m. Thursday in an El Segundo hotel room, Los Angeles County coroner's Capt. John Kades (KAY'-dihs) said.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death. A toxicology examination will take six weeks to be completed, Kades said.

Born Mary Vesta Williams on Dec. 1, 1957, to a disc jockey in Coshocton, Ohio, she had hits with "Once Bitten Twice Shy," ''Sweet, Sweet Love" and the torch song "Congratulations," where she emotionally bids goodbye to her ex, about to marry someone else, on his wedding day.

Williams also appeared in movies and on television.

She was a saloon singer in the Mario Van Peebles movie "Posse" and she had a recurring role on the television situation comedy "Sister, Sister," playing actress Jackee Harry's best friend Monica.

Harry tweeted her condolences: "...just received truly devastating news: R&B great, and my friend of many yrs, Vesta Williams ((at)vesta4u), has passed away. (hash)RIPVesta"

Williams diminutive frame belied her powerful, soulful pipes. Her initial success in the music industry came as a background singer for artists ranging from Chaka Khan, Anita Baker and Sting. But she would eventually establish her career with release of her first album, "Vesta," in 1986.

Over the years, she had hits including "Once Bitten Twice Shy," ''Sweet, Sweet Love" and her signature torch song "Congratulations."

Williams continued to make albums, and was a regular performer on the concert circuit.

She was supposed to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in Los Angeles next month, put on Ralph. The Oct. 22 show will now pay tribute to her and another late soul singer, Teena Marie.

"She was really excited about doing divas," her friend and fellow entertainer Sheryl Lee Ralph told The Associated Press, adding Williams was also scheduled to be the subject of a TVOne "Unsung" episode.

The 5-foot-3 entertainer gained weight in the 1990s, ballooning to a size 26. She went on a dramatic weight loss program, losing 100 pounds and getting down to a size 6.

She told Ebony magazine that she began gaining weight rapidly after her singing career started to falter. She blamed her size for 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.

Last year, she released a song on iTunes. In an interview last December with Egypt Thompson on the Web show "The Couch," she said she was blessed.

"She had just become such a brand new person," Ralph said. "This is very hard, this is very hard."
Ralph said Williams is survived by an adult daughter.


*RIP Vesta Williams*


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*Join The "Vesta Williams" Conversation*

Early risers may be thinner, happier

(Relaxnews)-Bad news for those who love a good lie in: a new study finds that people who get out of bed by 7 a.m., on average, do better in the workplace and have a lower chance of being depressed, stressed and overweight.

"Morning people tend to be healthier and happier as well as having lower body mass indices," researcher Dr. Joerg Huber of Roehampton University in London said in a British Psychological Society conference, according to the UK's Telegraph last week.

In a study of 1,068 adults, evening people were found to get out of bed by 8:54 a.m., on average. On weekends, everyone enjoyed an extra hour under the covers: early risers awoke at 7:47 a.m., compared to 10:09 a.m. for late risers.

Another study in the US found that Americans who habitually stay up later and sleep in later eat more fast food and overall calories and less fruits and vegetables, and have a higher body weight and more difficulty with weight loss than people who have more normal sleep routines.


*Take heed people if you want to lead a healtheir life style. 

We all know that getting up early isn't everyones thing.  However, if you allow yourself to wake up earlier than normal, then you have a better chance of getting most things done, having time for a yummy healthy breakfast and even getting in a 30 mins on the treadmill. 

At the end of the day it's all up to you, but remember time waits for no one, so start spending it wisely.*


Diva's Nation
Join The "Early Risers May Be Thinner, Happier" Conversation*