Tributes have been paid to singer Natalie Cole, who has died aged 65.
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“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long friendship I had with her, her father Nat, and the family over the years”, he wrote.
“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 a statement Friday. Natalie was born and raised in Los Angeles where she was exposed early to numerous great singers of the time not only through their music but in person through her father, Nat, and mother Maria Hawkins who was a former singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. I had to hold back the tears. But her debut, 1975’sInseparable, immediately announced her as a rising R&B talent, and hits like “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” are now modern standards secured by constant airplay.
The daughter of music icon Nat (King) Cole scored a huge 1991 hit with “Unforgettable” – a virtual duet with her late father.
In a technical feat considered novel in the day, Cole sang the title track – with its elegant, string-backed opening line “Unforgettable, that’s what you are” – in a duet with her father who had died of cancer in 1965.
Cole initially struggled with success, battling a devastating cocaine addiction until her manager sent her “kicking and screaming” to drug rehab in 1983, the singer recalled. She said that her health problems were due to drug use. Cole’s autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder was released in 2000. If it doesn’t fit, I don’t force it. When it works, it takes on a life of its own and you’re comfortable right away.
From her dad, she inherited warmth and elegance, the kind of virtuosity and class that can not be learned. In a tweet, actress Marlee Matlin called Cole a lovely songbird and a great actress, writing “she is now singing in heaven”. In 2010, the Society of Singers awarded her the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions towards music. Natalie was just a young girl in the black and white still, missing front teeth, wearing a bow in her hair. Cole successfully underwent chemotherapy for the disease, but the treatment led to kidney failure.
Throughout her career, Cole acquired nine Grammys, including Best New Artist, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Performance.
COLE: It was very, very difficult, very hard for me, because I’d never had the chance to really spend time working with him. Her father, Nat King Cole, is my favorite artist of all time. Cole performed at the Highland Park venue five times over the years, beginning in 1993.
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After several months of doctor appointments and blood tests, she was told of her diagnosis of Hepatitis C (Hep. C).
