Natalie Cole, one of the greatest singers of our time passes

One of the greatest singers in history has died at 65.
Natalie Cole died Jan. 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles due to complications from ongoing health issues, her family said in a statement.
Natalie hit the scene in 1975 like a bombshell with her first album “Inseparable” No. 1 which launched her incredible career as one of the most talented singers of all time. At that time many compared her to the Queen, Aretha Franklin which caused a brief rift between the two but she even won over the queen with hit after hit of high quality material that was matched only by Aretha, causing many Blacks to call her Soul Sister No. 2.
Hits continued to follow with albums “Natalie” No 3, “Unpredictable” No. 1, “Thankful” No. 5, “I Love You So” No. 11 and “We’re The Best of Friends” with Peabo Bryson No. 7. All were all either Gold or Platinum albums with several singles off them becoming either Gold or Platinum.
The mix of Marvin Yancy as composer combined with her unmatched voice and keyboard playing created such No. 1 hit singles as “This Will Be,” “I Can’t Say No,” “I’ve Got Love On My Mind,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Mr. Melody,” earning her several Grammys, Best New Artist, Best Female Vocal Performer and many other awards. In essence she was one of the most popular female vocalist of this era, until that oh so familiar foe raised its ugly head. Drugs.
Natalie’s 2000 autobiography, “Angel on My Shoulder,” discussed how she had battled heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol addiction for many years. She spent six months in rehab in 1983, but several years battling addiction in which her mother had to take charge of her business affairs. This was somewhat similar to Whitney Houston several years later.
When she announced in 2008 that she had been diagnosed with hepatitis C, a liver disease spread through contact with infected blood, she blamed her past intravenous drug use.
When she last performed in the Pittsburgh area last year she had to be wheeled to the stage. Because of her blood problems she had to have dialysis three times a week. But she never gave up on her talent even though it took a while to get her voice back.
In 1987 she recorded “Everlasting” on which she moved back into the elite talents as it added to her list of Gold albums, but she really crossed over to the White audience in 1991 with “Unforgettable” in which she dubbed in her father, Nat King Cole, on the title tune as a duet as well as changing her style from her more soulful style to a more easy listening jazzy sound which revived her career. No longer commanding the voice she had before the drugs this was the perfect fit for her comeback.
Her voice was spliced with her dad’s in the title cut, offering a delicate duet a quarter-century after his death. The album sold some 14 million copies and won six Grammys, including album of the year as well record and song of the year for the title track duet.
Most Whites knew Natalie as Nat King Cole’s daughter after this release but Blacks saw her as Soul Sister No. 2. Some were even disappointed in her new style causing her overall sales to drop. But she did record three classic albums that hit No. 1 on the Jazz charts. “Unforgettable…with love” of course in 1991, but “Take A Look” in 1993, “Ask A Woman Who Knows” 2002, and “Still Unforgettable” in 2008 all topped the Jazz charts.
“Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever,” read the statement from her son Robert Yancy and sisters Timolin and Casey Cole.
“I had to hold back the tears. I know how hard she fought,” said Aretha Franklin in a statement. “She fought for so long. She was one of the greatest singers of our time.”
Natalie had battled drug problems and hepatitis that forced her to undergo a kidney transplant in May 2009. Natalie’s older sister, Carol “Cookie” Cole, died the day she received the transplant. Their brother, Nat Kelly Cole, died in 1995.
Natalie Cole was inspired by her dad at an early age and auditioned to sing with him when she was just 11 years old. She was 15 when he died of lung cancer, in 1965.
She also worked as an actress, with appearances on TV’s “Touched by an Angel” and “Grey’s Anatomy” and others.
But she was happiest touring and performing live.
“I still love recording and still love the stage,” she said on her website in 2008, “but like my dad, I have the most fun when I am in front of that glorious orchestra or that kick-butt big band.”
Natalie was born in 1950 to Maria and Nat King Cole. Her mother was a onetime vocalist with Duke Ellington.
Natalie started singing seriously in college, performing in small clubs.
She received chemotherapy to treat the hepatitis and within four months, “I had kidney failure,” she told CNN’s Larry King in 2009. She needed dialysis three times a week until she received a donor kidney on May 18, 2009. The organ procurement agency One Legacy facilitated the donation from a family that had requested that their donor’s organ go to Natalie if it was a match.
She toured through much of her illness, often receiving dialysis three times a week at hospitals around the globe.
Courier columnist Aubrey Bruce, who wrote a feature on Natalie when she last performed in the Pittsburgh area, and a long time fan said that even though she had to be wheeled on stage and had to leave the interview for dialysis once she hit the stage she was all energy. “I don’t know how she did it, but she was amazing. I don’t know where she gathered the energy from,” Bruce said.
“I think that I am a walking testimony to you can have scars,” Natalie told People magazine. “You can go through turbulent times and still have victory in your life.”

Mariah Carey said she is “beyond devastated” to hear about the passing of fellow artist Natalie Cole.
“Beyond devastated to hear about the passing of the beautiful and talented Natalie Cole,” Carey, said on Instagram, alongside a touching photo of the two.
Cole is seen cradling Carey’s face with both hands as the two smile contently while attending a gathering.
“My deepest condolences to her family and all who were blessed to know her,” Carey wrote. “She will be terribly missed.”
(Information from AP and Wikipedia contributed to this article.)
 
 
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