Alyson Williams
by Ron WynnAn immensely talented vocalist able to sing new jack swing tunes or old-time soul ballads with equal skill, Alyson Williams spent awhile on the edge of stardom. The daughter of trumpeter and bandleader Bobby Booker, Williams did background vocals for Curtis Hairston, Melba Moore, B.B. & Q., 21802Ca$hflow, Unlimited Touch, Bobby Brown, and Barbara Mitchell before joining High Fashion in 1982. Williams also sang with the Affair before going solo in 1986 with a cover of the Pointer Sisters' "Yes We Can Can." She joined Def Jam in 1987, and the scorching duet "Make You Mine Tonight" with Chuck Stanley established her credentials with urban audiences. Williams also did a duet with Oran "Juice" Jones, "How to Love Again," that was featured on his LP G.T.O.: Gangsters Takin' Over. Her Def Jam debut was Raw in 1989. Williams did another duet, this time with Tashan, in 1989, and the two later toured England together. She returned in 1991 with a self-titled release for the OBR/Columbia label, but it was her last.