Natalie Cole dead: Singing sensation dies aged 65 from heart failure

She died Thursday evening, on New Year’s Eve, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived with dignity, strength and honor”, her rep said in a statement. “Our beloved mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain unforgettable in our hearts”.

Born Feb. 6, 1950, in Los Angeles, Cole had music in her genes. Cole has one son, Robert Adam “Robbie” Yancy from her first marriage to Marvin Yancy.

Cole went to rehab in 1983 and told the Inquirer that her recovery is a “day-to-day process”. The same morning, her sister, Cookie, passed away from cancer. “Instead of dancing around the stage, maybe I’ll just walk elegantly”, she said. The album contained the song “Unforgettable”, which used cutting edge technology at the time to merge her voice with his into a duet that topped the United States charts. Her most recent album, in 2013, was “Natalie Cole en Espaol”, a collection of Latin pop favorites that was nominated for Latin Grammy Awards. “There was always music playing at our house in one room or another”, Cole wrote in her 2000 memoir, Angel on My Shoulder.

Speaking to MailOnline, her sister Casey said: “It’s heartbreaking, she’s fought a very long battle and she’s at peace now”. Additionally, she acted in a few television programs and two movies.

The next year, she underwent a kidney transplant. It resulted in a lot of club bookings but also led to embarrassing moments like the night one club marquee read, “Appearing tonight: The daughter of Nat King Cole”.

By 11, she was performing alongside him on his television show, USA Today reported.

The public loved her either way. She has become an extraordinary singer in her own right.

Cole’s top-selling album was 1991’s Unforgettable…With Love, on which she sang songs her father had recorded. Included were some of the late Nat “King” Cole’s greatest songs.

The album resurrects the tight, big band rhythms, swelling strings, and romantic lyrics of ’40s and ’50s songs, and adds a contemporary feel. “Another father-daughter duet of ‘When I Fall in Love” won the singer a Grammy in 1996 for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. Critics compared her to Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin but her career floundered in the 1980s when she ran into problems with heroin.

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.

Her career was soon back on track with her hit cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac”, along with the singles “Jump Start My Heart” and “I Live for Your Love”.