Grammy award-winning singer, Natalie Cole dies at 65

Six years ago, she received a kidney from an anonymous donor after Hepatitis C forced her into dialysis, and she became the spokesperson for the University Kidney Research Organisation. “Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever”, read a statement from her son Robert Yancy and sisters Timolin and Casey Cole. A few days before her death, Radar Online reported that Cole had been seen at LAX in a wheelchair.

Once described as the “new Aretha Franklin”, Cole was known for hits including “This Will Be” and “I’ve Got Love on My Mind”, as well as the popular song “Unforgettable”, which featured her vocals worked into her father’s famous tune. Her father was legendary crooner Nat King Cole, and her mother, Maria Cole, sang with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Nat “King” Cole died of lung cancer in 1965.

Her career was inextricably linked to that of her father.

Natalie’s 1991 jazz album, “Unforgettable…”

American singer Jordin Sparks was one of the first to pay her respects to the late star.

“With album titles such as “Inseparable”, “Everlasting”, and “Unforgettable… with love”, and more recently “Still Unforgettable”, we shall remember her for capturing the emotions of timelessness and an appreciation for abundant love”.

She was first nominated for numerous Grammy Awards in 1976 and has been a constant contestant for the honour over the years. Exuberant, piano-thumping, gospel-influenced pop, 1975’s “This Will Be” is her best work, and it still sounds like the musical equivalent of a sunshower (though it’s become annoyingly associated with eHarmony commercials).

In her 2000 autobiography Angel On My Shoulder, the singer opened up about her heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol addiction. She also underwent chemotherapy for Hepatitis C.

Cole has suffered through a substantial amount of health problems. She saw and touched the world through her journey of life and with her lovely voice. Finally, in May 2009, she had an operation and had one of her kidneys replaced. Cole passed away on Thursday, December 31st. I mean, she was part of the black pop tradition that goes back many, many years. However, she knew it would be with limitations.

COLE: It says, if I had the second chance, oh, I’d do it a whole lot differently. (Cole’s then-husband, musician/producer/arranger André Fischer, was a key collaborator on both recordings.) A third collection showcasing standards, Stardust, arrived in 1996, featuring another posthumous duet with the elder Cole, When I Fall In Love. “I’m not like that”, she told The Los Angeles Times in 1985.

Over the years, Cole also did some dramatic acting, appearing in guest roles on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He wrote about the long friendship that he had with not only Natalie, but also with her father and her entire family.

This multitalented woman dabbled in film, television, as well as music and didn’t allow her father’s shadow to define who she was or what she wanted to achieve in her career.