Natalie Cole....

Natalie Cole was born the second of five children on February 6, 1950 to the legendary singer Nat "King" Cole and his wife Maria Cole (who, before her marriage to Nat, was a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra). Natalie (who's nickname is Sweetie) was raised in the elegant Hancock Park district of Los Angeles, California. Music was a big part of her childhood – different kinds of music that also included jazz and rock. Since her Dad was on the same label as the Beatles, he would bring home their latest albums and would also bring those of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Natalie made her singing debut at the age of six on her Dad’s Christmas album. He had given her a tape recorder which she used to tape herself singing a few of Ella’s tunes at age 11. After hearing Natalie’s voice on the tape and being amazed, Nat asked conductor Nelson Riddle to write her into a song in his nightclub act. She performed for a week because she was in school, but it was her first paying job. Nat "King" Cole died of lung cancer when Natalie was 15 years old.

After Nat "King" Cole’s death, Maria Cole and her children eventually moved to Massachusetts. Natalie was into listening to the rock-‘n’-roll music of singers such as Janis Joplin and the Jefferson Airplane. Natalie enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. When she started at the University, she originally wanted to be a physician. At some point, she hooked up with a band in Amherst as lead singer and they played jazz as well as rock. The one thing that bothered her was that club owners would sometimes bill her as Nat King Cole’s daughter. She received a B.A. degree in child psychology from the University of Massachusetts in 1972 and continued performing. She increasingly won more distinctive venues. She developed her own style, which included the gospel flavor and rhythm-and-blues styles.

Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy (two Chicago-based songwriters and record producers) caught her act at Mister Kelly’s nightclub in Chicago. They liked the range of her talent and took her into the studio to record a demo tape. They began writing original compositions that fit her voice. They contacted the major record labels to obtain a recording contract for Natalie. However, it was Capitol Records, the label Nat "King" Cole had recorded for, who offered Natalie a contract. In 1975, Natalie Cole made her debut album, Inseparable. She took the music industry by storm. Two hit singles resulted which were "Inseparable" and "This Will Be." Natalie earned a gold record and in 1976 won two Grammy awards. She won for Best New Artist and for Best R & B Performance, Female for "This Will Be." The latter award was previously won by the great, Aretha Franklin for nine years straight. One of the things that I remember the most is how Natalie was compared so much to Aretha.

Her follow-up album, Natalie, in 1976 yielded the hit single "Sophisticated Lady" from which she won another Grammy award. Also, "Mr. Melody" was a top 10 single. Natalie and Marvin Yancy also got married in July of 1976. Capitol Records released Natalie’s third album, Unpredictable, which was a million seller and contained the hit single "I've Got Love On My Mind." Natalie gave birth to her son, Robert Adam Yancy, in October of 1977. From what I could gather, Thankful was released in November of 1977 which went platinum and yielded the hit single "Our Love." The Natalie Cole Special aired in 1978 and included the group Earth, Wind & Fire among others. In the summer of 1978, Natalie released Natalie…Live which is a two-record set. Ms. Cole (along with Chaka Khan) is also featured singing background vocals on Stephen Bishop’s Bish album of 1978 (ABC Records) on the song "A Fool At Heart." I Love You So was released in 1979 which contained the hit singles "Stand By" and "Sorry." Natalie also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1979! "Go Natalie!"

Natalie collaborated with Peabo Bryson on We’re The Best Of Friends in 1979 and the album went gold. Don't Look Back, of 1980, yielded the single "Someone That I Used To Love." which was featured on a special edition of the Merv Griffin Show. It also included "Stairway To The Stars." Natalie was also featured in a Posner hair products commercial in the late 70's or early 80's. In the commercial, she'd say something like "Posner, it takes the problem out of problem hair..." She would sing "Posner, positively beautiful." It was a great commercial with a catchy tune. Eventually, Natalie’s drug and alcohol use became heavy and took a toll on her career. Her album, Happy Love was recorded without Marvin Yancy. Although they reunited for the I'm Ready album, they eventually divorced but shared responsibility of care for their son, Robbie. In 1982, Natalie entered a drug rehabilitation clinic and stayed for 30 days. However, her stay wasn't successful. She was Johnny Mathis' special guest for "Unforgettable: A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole" which was recorded live in May of 1983 and released in September of the same year. Her mother was named conservator of her estate to help Natalie with her personal matters. Later in 1983, Natalie entered a drug-treatment center in Minnesota, worked hard, won her battle and was able to leave the hospital on May 16, 1984. The I’m Ready album sold only about 40,000 copies. "Too Much Mister" was the sole single, but it didn't do enough to revive her career. In 1985, Natalie suffered another setback when Marvin Yancy passed away of a heart attack. As much as Natalie had to endure, it seemed to make her that much more stronger.

In 1985, Dangerous, was released which sold just under 150,000 copies. However, Natalie was back on top with Everlasting in 1987. The three hit singles were "Jump Start," "I Live For Your Love," and "Pink Cadillac." She also sang "Over You" in 1987 with Ray Parker, Jr. Natalie is also featured on Deniece Williams’ Special Love album in 1989 as they collaborated on the gospel tune "We Sing Praises." Still yet, another successful album of Natalie’s was the release of Good To Be Back in 1989. It contained the top ten hit "Miss You Like Crazy" as well as "Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat." Natalie married musician/producer Andre Fischer in 1989, but she was said to be going through a divorce from him some time in 1996. Natalie’s largest selling album to date is the release of Unforgettable…..With Love in 1991 (Elektra Records) which is a special tribute to her father that contains twenty-two of his classics. The album won seven Grammy awards; Natalie is incredible! Through technology, she sings with her father, Nat King Cole, on the album in a duet of "Unforgettable." They are both unforgettable singers. Natalie’s follow-up album Take A Look (1993), although not as successful, also contains wonderful songs. She picked up another Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the title song.

Natalie's Christmas album Holly and Ivy (released in 1994) is so good that I find myself playing it even in the summer (smile). Natalie Cole's Untraditional Traditional Christmas special concert can be viewed on video. She sings the songs from Holly & Ivy on the special with such ease; it really is a great performance! One will really enjoy her delivery of every song, particularly Natalie's version of "Joy To The World." Natalie also had to endure the death of her brother. Stardust which was released in 1996, also contains a duet with her father entitled "When I Fall In Love" from which she also won a Grammy award. She also released a Christmas CD entitled Celebration Of Christmas (with Jose' Carreras and Placido Domingo) and sings the title track of "A Smile Like Yours" (1997) from the motion picture of the same name. Natalie released Snowfall On The Sahara in June of 1999! The album is a mixture of Jazz, Pop and R&B...actually, the album contains all of the different styles of music that Ms. Cole has performed over her twenty-five years in the music industry thus far! (Click here for the lyrics to the hit song "Snowfall On The Sahara.") She also recorded a new Christmas CD with the London Symphony Orchestra entitled The Magic Of Christmas; it was released in stores on October 19, 1999.

In 2006, Natalie appeared in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. She also appeared in Grey's Anatomy. Natalie collaborated closely with R&B producer Dallas Austin on her album, Leavin.' It is an outstanding album of interpretive songs. She covers a wide range of contemporary artists such as Fiona Apple ("Criminal"), Shelby Lynn ("Leavin'"), and the Isley Brothers "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)." Leavin' covers country, blues, soul and even Euro-pop and was released on September 26th. Cole's new hit single "Day Dreaming" was released in July, 2006 and is an up-tempoed version of Aretha Franklin's 1972 classic. Natalie's version of "Day Dreaming" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard R&B Chart. One of the highlights of her tour was her awesome performance at the world famous Apollo Theater in New York on November 10, 2006; it was a great show!

In February of 2007, Ms. Cole was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance Female for "Day Dreaming." She also appeared in (rapper) Nas' music video for "Can't Forget About You" to pay tribute to her father, Nat King Cole. The song samples the legendary Mr. Cole's "Unforgettable." Her voice could also be heard on the album We All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song. Natalie's two tracks on the album are "(You'll Have To Swing It) Mr. Paganini" and "A Tisket A Tasket." She also appeared as herself in an episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; Natalie sang "I Say A Little Prayer" in the third episode of The Harriet Dinner.

Ms. Cole continues to tour with a mixture of tunes from her extensive collection of hits with songs like "Day Dreaming," "Unforgettable," and also songs that date back to the very start of her career. In May of 2008, Natalie gave two fantastic weekend concerts celebrating the 30th year anniversary of Resorts in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as well as concerts in Tokyo, Japan!

Although Natalie was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in February, 2008, she began a series of treatments to help ensure recovery, and Ms. Cole continued on with her career. To characterize her, Natalie is elegant, classy, and hard working; she's music at its best. Seventeen years after the multiplatinum Unforgettable...With Love album comes her much anticipated follow-up, Still Unforgettable; (DMI Records) which was released on September 9, 2008! Natalie produced the album which is full of treasures that she pulled from the American songbook. She also teamed up with her Dad on "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." The album won two Grammy Awards. One award was for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. It also won for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "Here's That Rainy Day" in which Nan Schwartz was the Arranger. Last but not least, she was named the Outstanding Jazz Artist at the 40th NAACP Image Awards! Additionally, on or about May 19, 2009, Natalie had successful kidney transplant surgery! Look for her tour promoting her latest Still Unforgettable album to resume in or around November, 2009. The album can be purchased at Amazon.com; come along for a great ride with "Still Unforgettable!"
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