Grammy Award-Winning Artist Natalie Cole Passes Away At 65

The cause of death believed to be congestive heart failure.

Chart-topping R&B singer Natalie Cole, who followed her legendary father into the music business with hits like “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” and “Unforgettable”, died at age 65.

The singer had been battling multiple illnesses over the past few years.

“Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying… with dignity, strength and honor”.

He rep said in a statement: “It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister’s passing”.

“I had to hold back the tears. I’m a fighter, not a chump”, she said. In a tweet, actress Marlee Matlin called Cole a lovely songbird and a great actress, writing “she is now singing in heaven”. She will be truly missed but her light will shine forever!’ – Patti LaBelle.

Cole is survived by her son, Robert Adam Yancy. Included were some of the late Nat “King” Cole’s greatest songs. One of the best songs on the album features Cole singing a digital duet with her father to the tune of “Unforgettable”.

Natalie Cole with her dad Nat King Cole in 1960.

Her album, Unforgettable… With Love (1991), won the Grammy for Album of the Year and has sold more than 7 million copies in the United States. Her father too was a widely popular crooner.

She had previously experimented with drugs like LSD and heroin, but it was cocaine that sent her into a spiral as her career and marriage faltered. It contained a song that would become her first big hit, This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), according to The Washington Post. I’d say instead that I’ve learned a lot of lessons. We were blessed with her awesome talent and her presence. “I owed that to him”.

The album quickly went multiplatinum, winning a number of Grammy Awards and copping Album of the Year.

On New Year’s Eve, the nine-time Grammy-winning singer died in a Los Angeles hospital, her family said on Friday.

“I’ve been to hell and back”, she wrote in her book.

The singer was born on February 6 in 1950 in Los Angeles.

Her own life saved, Cole was devastated at the loss of her sister, but grateful to the family of the woman whose kidney she received. In addition to R&B, Natalie Cole delved into pop and jazz music.

Sichko said Cole’s challenges in her life such as divorce or past intravenous drug use never deterred the church from supporting her. As a young stand-up comic I opened for Natalie Cole. A year later, she received a new kidney from a deceased fan.

Cole also dappled into acting during her career. Cole herself married three times, her husbands including Marvin Yancy and “Unforgettable” co-producer Andre Fischer.

“I had to make peace with my past, because I can’t change it”, she told People magazine at the time. But you know the saying: These are the best of times and the worst of times.

Share with Us – We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism.