The R&B songstress reportedly died of congestive heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering from a series of health issues. “Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor”, her sisters, Timolin Cole and Casey Cole, and son, Robert Yancy, said in the statement. Her top-selling album was the 1991 record Unforgettable… with Love, in which Cole paid tribute to her father’s biggest hits.
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At age 6, Cole sang with her father on a Christmas album, and she was performing by the time she was 11. May her soul rest in peace. It is regarded by many of her fans and by music critics as “a vocal tour de force”.
NATALIE COLE: (Singing) It’s very clear.
When Cole was 15, and attending boarding school across the country, her father died of lung cancer. In Angel On My Shoulder, her autobiography from 2000, Natalie Cole wrote that her drug addiction nearly resulted in her failing to escape from a fire in 1981 that occurred in her Las Vegas hotel.
– Randy Jackson (@YO_RANDYJACKSON) January 1, 2016 I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long… The album sold 14 million copies and won six Grammys. “In fashion, they talk about, ‘That dress is wearing her, she’s not wearing the dress, it looks too ideal for her, ‘ which to me is not natural”, she told writer Richard Harrington.
She could carry a song, of course, as evidenced by her famously convincing argument on the power of “Everlasting Love”.
Touring until her last days – she cancelled a New Year’s Eve performance in Disneyland due to ill health – Cole told me there is no separation between her real life persona and that on the record. She eventually entered rehab in 1983. At one time, she was billed as Natalie “Queen” Cole, a testament to how she used her range and charisma to carve out a legacy in her own right.
Cole won nine Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 1992 for “Unforgettable …” She saw and touched the world through her journey of life and with her handsome voice.
She received a bachelor’s degree in child psychology from the University of MA at Amherst in 1972, but many of her early jobs were in music.
From her dad, she inherited warmth and elegance, the kind of virtuosity and class that can not be learned.
While we did discuss her debut UAE performance, heavier issues weighed on her mind.
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In contrast to the rags-to-riches stories of many other artists of her generation, Cole was raised in relative affluence in Los Angeles. “Smile” is a song I sing to myself whenever things get overwhelming. As a young stand-up comic I opened for Natalie Cole. She taught us to feel, and her music provided a vehicle to express such human feelings and raw emotion. I pray that precious memories of her, filled with joy and laughter soon overshadow the pain of their loss.
