Wanda Houston | |
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Birth name | Wanda Lynn Houston [1] |
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Origin | Berkshire County, Massachusetts |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | late 1990s–present |
Wanda Houston is an American singer and actress.
Houston is originally from Chicago, Illinois. [2] [3] She started singing in gospel choirs of West Side, Chicago. [2] She was born to John and Bessie, the oldest of four. [2] [4] Houston comes from a creative family. [4] Her father was an actor, and her mother was both an actress and a singer. [4] [2] Her father ran a theatre company. [2] Houston studied chemistry in college, but eventually switched to music, getting her degree in music with a focus on opera. [2] [4] After college she ended up in Los Angeles, spending two decades there. [4] At this time, Houston starred in some Hollywood films, and went on to sing at the Sands in Las Vegas. [2] [4] After Los Angeles she moved to Australia while touring with Sisterella . [4] [2] She spent a year in Australia, and considered staying there forever. [4] [2]
In the 2000s, Houston toured with Martha and the Vandellas and The Platters. [2] She lived and performed throughout the United States, Australia and Europe. [5] [3] In 2001 [2] she settled in the Berkshires, and now she performs chiefly in New England. [5] In the Berkshires she is considered a diva. [2] Her current group plays "a mix of mid-20th century jazz and rhythm-and-blues". [6] [3]
In February 2021 she sang the sorrow songs of W. E. B. Du Bois at the 2021 Du Bois Legacy Festival, commemorating the civil rights activist's 153rd birthday. [7] [8] Her own parents were deeply involved in the civil rights movement. [2] She performed at the BarnArts Masquerade Jazz and Funk Winter Music Carnival on more than one occasion. [9]
Houston collaborated with American progressive rock band Spock's Beard on two occasions. [10] [11] She was a featured artist on the dance single "Unity" by John Rizzo, also featuring Lisa Hunt. [12] The song peaked at number 27 on the United States Billboard Dance Club Songs. [12]
While in Los Angeles, she starred in a few Hollywood films, including The Christmas Path, also starring Shia LaBeouf. [4] [13] Houston starred in an off-Broadway play called "A Good Swift Kick", [2] which premiered in July 1999. [14] The play wasn't warmly received. [2] However, The New York Times praised Houston's performance, calling it fantastic. [14] [2] [4] [15] In 2005 she debuted at Broadway, in a A Streetcar Named Desire , alongside John C. Reilly and Natasha Richardson. [16] [2] Show director Edward Hall expanded Houston's role ("The Negro Woman") in this version. [4] Houston toured the world with Sisterella , a show produced by Michael Jackson where she played one of the wicked stepsisters. [4] [17] [18] In 2006 she performed Ain't Misbehavin' at the Sharon Playhouse. [4]
Houston stated that her favorite jazz song is "Nature Boy", her favorite R&B song is "Midnight Train to Georgia", and her favorite song to perform live is her group's version of "On and On". [6] Mahalia Jackson was her idol growing up. [2] [4]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | ||||
"Unity" [12] (John Rizzo featuring Lisa Hunt and Wanda Houston) | 2008 | 27 | Non-album single | |