| Wanda Houston | |
| Birth Name: | Wanda Lynn Houston[1] |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin: | Berkshire County, Massachusetts |
| 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] 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.[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".[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.[6] [7] 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.[8]
Houston collaborated with American progressive rock band Spock's Beard on two occasions.[9] [10] She was a featured artist on the dance single "Unity" by John Rizzo, also featuring Lisa Hunt.[11] The song peaked at number 27 on the United States Billboard Dance Club Songs.[11]
While in Los Angeles, she starred in a few Hollywood films, including The Christmas Path, also starring Shia LaBeouf.[4] [12] Houston starred in an off-Broadway play called "A Good Swift Kick",[2] which premiered in July 1999.[13] The play wasn't warmly received.[2] However, The New York Times praised Houston's performance, calling it fantastic.[13] [2] [4] [14] In 2005 she debuted at Broadway, in a A Streetcar Named Desire, alongside John C. Reilly and Natasha Richardson.[15] [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] [16] [17] 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".[18] Mahalia Jackson was her idol growing up.[2] [4]
| Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||||
| "Unity" (John Rizzo featuring Lisa Hunt and Wanda Houston) | rowspan | 2008 | 27 | ||