Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an
American singer–songwriter, who performed across genres such as
pop,
jazz,
adult contemporary and
R&B. Originally credited as
Vesta Williams, she was sometimes simply billed as
Vesta beginning in the 1990s. She was known for her four–octave vocal range. She once sang The
Star Spangled Banner for the
Los Angeles Lakers game opener using all four of those octaves. 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 United States
Billboard R&B chart from the mid–1980s to the early–1990s which included "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (1986), "Sweet Sweet Love" (1988), "Special" (1993), and her 1989 R&B hit and signature song, "Congratulations".