Wanda Houston is an American singer and actress.

Biography

Houston is originally from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She started singing in gospel choirs of West Side, Chicago. She was born to John and Bessie, the oldest of four. Houston comes from a creative family. Her father was an actor, and her mother was both an actress and a singer. Her father ran a theatre company. Houston studied chemistry in college, but eventually switched to music, getting her degree in music with a focus on

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. After college she ended up in Los Angeles, spending two decades there. At this time, Houston starred in some Hollywood films, and went on to sing at the Sands in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. After Los Angeles she moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

while touring with ''

Sisterella ''Sisterella'' is a musical, presented and produced by Michael Jackson with Miramax Films in association with Tribeca. Music, lyrics and book are by Larry Hart. The original choreographer was Ramon Del Barrio. The musical has been described as ...

''. She spent a year in Australia, and considered staying there forever. In the 2000s, Houston toured with

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

and The Platters. She lived and performed throughout the United States, Australia and Europe. In 2001 she settled in the Berkshires, and now she performs chiefly in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. In the Berkshires she is considered a diva. Her current group plays "a mix of mid-20th century jazz and rhythm-and-blues". In February 2021 she sang the

sorrow songs Sorrow songs expressed the suffering and unjust treatment of enslaved African Americans during the period of slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans a ...

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

at the 2021 Du Bois Legacy Festival, commemorating the civil rights activist's 153rd birthday. Her own parents were deeply involved in the civil rights movement. She performed at the BarnArts Masquerade Jazz and Funk Winter Music Carnival on more than one occasion. Houston collaborated with American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band Spock's Beard on two occasions. She was a featured artist on the dance single "Unity" by John Rizzo, also featuring Lisa Hunt. The song peaked at number 27 on the United States ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs.

Acting career

While in Los Angeles, she starred in a few Hollywood films, including ''The Christmas Path'', also starring Shia LaBeouf. Houston starred in an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play called "A Good Swift Kick", which premiered in July 1999. The play wasn't warmly received. However,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

praised Houston's performance, calling it fantastic. In 2005 she debuted at Broadway, in a ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

'', alongside

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...

and

Natasha Richardson Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaugh ...

. Show director Edward Hall expanded Houston's role (" The Negro Woman") in this version. Houston toured the world with ''

'', a show produced by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

where she played one of the wicked stepsisters. In 2006 she performed '' Ain't Misbehavin''' at the Sharon Playhouse.

Personal life

Houston stated that her favorite jazz song is " Nature Boy", her favorite R&B song is "

Midnight Train to Georgia "Midnight Train to Georgia" is a song by Gladys Knight & the Pips, their second release after departing Motown Records for Buddah Records. Written by Jim Weatherly, and included on the Pips' 1973 LP ''Imagination'', "Midnight Train to Georgia" be ...

", and her favorite song to perform live is her group's version of "On and On".

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

was her idol growing up.

Discography

Singles

As featured artist

References

External links

Houston at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Wanda Living people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Broadway theatre people Musical theatre actresses American film actresses American soul singers American blues singers Year of birth missing (living people)