by Nate CavalieriAs the sister of noted R&B and jazz notables Hubert Laws, Eloise Laws, and Ronnie Laws (of '70s powerhouse Earth Wind and Fire), Debra Laws was a part of a very musical family. As a vocalist she has performed and collaborated with a veritable who's who of jazz, funk, and R&B segments of the recording industry. As a soloist she debuted on Elektra Records with Very Special in 1981 which was produced by her brothers Ronnie and Hubert Laws. Even though the title track to Very Special received a massive amount of airplay (and surprisingly continued to do so) the record didn't lead to as successful of a solo career as Elektra had hoped, and it was her first and only solo record with them. Her career as a vocalist continued through the '80s and '90s, leading to a handful of performances on world-class concert halls and at some of the most internationally renowned jazz festivals. Equally impressive are her numerous credits with truly class acts of jazz and R&B including Melvin Robinson, Larry Dunn, Fred White, Garnett Brown, Michael Martin, Snooky Young, Larry Williams, Maurice Spears, Alan Rubin, Bobby Vega, Harvey Mason, and Patrick Kelly. In addition to her musical life, she has also worked as an actor on Broadway and on a series of other stage and television productions including appearances on daytime television's General Hospital.