We take you 'Behind the Beats' to learn more about the artists that play on our airwaves. This week: Vanessa Williams.
We sat down with Vanessa Williams at the end of 2024 for our year-end BEATS magazine. You can check out the magazine article in our BEATS magazine here, but first keep scrolling for the extended version of our interview in text format.
Allen Kepler: Tell us a little bit about La Costa and how that tune came about.
Vanessa Williams: Well, I used to sing La Costa when I was in high school in the Westchester youth jazz ensemble. Jim Harwood was our director, and it was a Natalie Cole hit back in the day in the seventies. I always loved it, and always wanted to do it and cover it one day. I actually recorded it pre-covid. It's like, it's like post war pre-war. So probably like 2018 or 2019, Henry Hay, who plays with me in my band when I'm touring, he produced that. And I have Darius de Haas, who is a longtime friend from back. I met him when we did Kiss of the Spider Woman back in 1994, and he also sings with me on the road occasionally as well. So he's singing with me, and it was just a great reminder. I love stuff that's Brazilian and tropical, and kind of takes you to another place. Being by the sea is one of my favorite places, so it was easy. And we've got a great solo harmonica player, Gregoire Maret.
AK: There are so many different styles on this album, Survivor, tell me about that.
VW: My 1st idea of an album was a retrospective. I’ve been in the business for 40 years, and let me take you through my journey. So, for instance, you know, “Come Dance With Me,” was a song that I actually danced in at my 1st show that I did at Syracuse University as a musical theater major. The name of the show was “Swinging On a Star,” and it was Jimmy Van Heusen and, you know, Aaron Sorkin, who was a musical theater major, he was in it, and so that was kind of like a tribute back to the beginnings of my career.
“On The Other Side of the Tracks” was our audition number. So everybody who went through the Syracuse program had to learn that as their uptempo moment. So that was a that was the uptempo song that you'd sang for an audition.
“Being Good Isn't Good Enough” I sang in performance class, and just loved not only how beautiful the Julie Stein melody was, but how the parallels that I feel resonate within my life, and with my journey. I literally just sang it for a Kamala Harris fundraiser. And I said, you know, when is being good good enough, and I went into the song because it's about, you know, “I must fly extra high. I have to be the best or nothing at all,” and that's as a woman, particularly a woman of color, you constantly have to prove yourself over and over again just to be seen, just to be in the game, just to be considered equal. So that was one that was very personal to me.
“Zaz Zuh Zaz” was again another Broadway thing I had done after midnight in 2014, on Broadway. That was just one that I loved everything about it. I loved the fact that my band who plays with me all the time was, you know, part of it, singing back and forth, and I just love that kind of feel. I also feel as a dancer you're always looking for tunes to dance with. I've had so many drag queens do the right stuff, I said. You know I've done one up tempo tune, I need to get back in the game in terms of my dance tunes. So we got “Legs,” we've got “BOP!” that was kind of the impetus of of doing the dance stuff.
AK: I love the tune Moonlight.
VW: Thank you. That’s Loris Holland, who I'd never worked with before, but he's worked with Celine and and Lauren Hill, and Mariah Carey. He’s a great musician and he wrote that especially for me because he knew that ethereal kind of tropical vibe that I love and kind of sit in. It was great working with him. He lives in Texas and did come to New York when we cut our vocals, and then, nowadays, you can work via Zoom, literally. You know, Mike, where I'm watching him, he's watching me. It's crazy, but it's fantastic.
AK: This album, Survivor, was produced by your label.
VW: Yeah, I mean, I had been signed to BMG from 2019 or so.
I started out trying to do it myself and then got signed to BMG, and then, of course, you know, the pandemic hit, and I was trying to figure out how to do it at the same time. And then when the actor strike happened and I go, I just got to finish this. I've got tracks that are waiting. I've got tracks that I know I can do. Let me call the team and do it. So I self-funded a lot of it because BMG didn't even know it was signed to them as a label. I finally finish it, present it to them, they get excited, and then the guy who's responsible for my music gets let go and again I'm back to square one. So yeah, I did it independently, with the help of of friends. That's how we're doing it.
AK: Music isn’t your only passion, you’ve had a successful acting career as well.
VW: Well, in retrospect, I've been highly successful. Starting out, everyone was like “pick a lane. You can only do this or that.” I was very frustrated that I was being told that because the previous generation, Sammy Davis, Jr. Frank Sinatra, everybody did a ton of things. Tap dance was in major motion pictures. I didn’t understand why people were so insular in terms of “you can only do one, pick it.” So luckily I've been able to kind of ride that wave and now you see everybody doing it. So I'm glad that now that's more acceptable.
And also businesses change. No one is working. Between recording and acting, you know, it has changed, and it's not the way it used to be. It's scary, because you don't know what's going to happen. When I did “Ugly Betty” we did 24 episodes a year. You'd start in July. You'd finish, you know, end of March. You could budget your life because you knew what was happening. Nowadays if you do a series, you're lucky if you get maybe 6, maybe 8, and then you're out on the street again. It’s tough out there.
AK: Tell us about The Devil Wears Prada.
VW: The goal is to bring it to Broadway but I'm so happy to be making my West End premiere, which is their debut, which is going to be amazing.
I was supposed to do City of Angels in 2020, and I was at the Garrick, and we were in our preview week, and that's when Covid hit. So I was, you know, just heartbroken that I didn't get a chance to make my debut then. So this is definitely past due, but I'm really happy to be able to do it. Elton. John wrote the music. We did a 2 week workshop in January and he was so happy with where the future of the show is going to be. And then he saw us right before and he was again really happy. So I assume that he's going to be equally as happy when we open at the Dominion.
It's an iconic role but it's also for me to be able to create a new role that's never been done in the theater. That has always been one of my bucket list items.
AK: You are incredibly hardworking - do you have any spare time? What do you like to do to relax?
VW: I like to stay home when I can. I have a grandson who I adore, so I love to spend time with him when he comes up for the weekends from the city. That's definitely my most satisfying time, for sure. He'll be 3 in December.
I just like being home now, I think, after the pandemic, it's like I enjoy my house. I enjoy, you know, the quiet, the reading, putting on music and doing my crossword puzzles. I do the New York Times’ Daily Crossword, the Mini, Strands, Wordle, of course, and then Connections, Letterbox, and Tile. That how I start my day.
I love kickboxing, which I have probably been doing the last 15 years. I love the fact that there’s music,and you're actually hitting and learning a skill. And it's always different. Doing the same thing over and over again is a bore. I do also lift weights with my trainer, and that is necessary for bone health. I do physiotherapy weekly when working in the theater just because you're wearing high heels, you're dancing, you're moving, I would say, that's a necessity, but I certainly enjoy it. When you're talking about wellness, it's definitely imperative to keep your body in line and listen to it.
AK: It’s great to see you coming back to music at this stage in your career.
VW: Back in the day as an actor, when you reached a certain age, then you were considered a character actor. So that that was a lane that you'd be put in, the grandmother, the kooky neighbor. But one of the things about theater is you've got wigs and tape and all kinds of stuff to create the illusion. So I knew that I could have some longevity in theater, because that was the kind of an open table. There are no cutoffs when you're in theater, you're never too old to do something. All those really great, juicy roles - King Lear, you know, are for somebody who's of a certain age with wisdom and gravitas
And even in recording, Johnny Cash had a huge hit. Frank Sinatra, his duet work, he was in his seventies if not eighties.
AK: How do you use social media to engage with your fans?
VW: Well, I know how to do most of my social media, and then you have to pay for somebody to actually bump it up. So that's exhausting and quite expensive. I just recently joined Tiktok, I’m on Facebook and Instagram. I try to relate to my life as much as I can so people get a chance to see what I do.
AK: You’ve got some television projects coming up as well?
VW: I'm a special guest on Elsbeth, on CBS. I'm also working on a documentary. So we're getting that in order. We've got a pitch deck for a reality series while I'm in London, following the making of a musical. We're in the process of that. So, you know, we’ve got a lot of plates spinning in the air.
AK: What advice would you give to a young artist?
VW: I would say stay open to experiences and people that come into your life that might have the wisdom to make you take a chance on stuff and try stuff that you might not even think would work for you. Follow your skill set. What are you good at? Start there. You never know where that's going to take you. When you're twenties you're like, “I'm going to prove it. I'm going to do it. This is the only way to do it.” Yes, you can be focused. Yes, you can be enthusiastic about what you want to do, but make sure that you realize that if you get an opportunity, put in the work and be open to the magic that you create. It's great to have the fire in the belly and want to prove it to everybody that you can do it, but also don't shut out other people or other ideas or opportunities that might be able to help you be the success that you see.
AK: What brings you the most happiness in your life right now?
AK: My family and my grandson. I love traveling. That probably brings me the second most happiness - exploring new places with new friends, eating delicious food and wine, listening to different languages and immersing myself in different cultures.
Find more on her website, here.