Natalie Cole, an Unforgettable Songbird, Passes at the Age of 65

Her publicist, Maureen O’Connor confirmed the death that occurred while Cole was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She has four siblings, Carol, Casey, Nat Kelly, and Timolin.

Natalie is survived by her son Robert Yancy. “Although I know she’s been struggling with her health for many years, I really felt she was going to make it. The last time I saw her was a few months ago when I had the absolute thrill and pleasure to sing with her at a private party”.

I met Ms. Cole on several occasions, often via our mutual colleague Denise Rich. In 2006, when she was crafting her album Leavin’, I suggested to her then-A&R director that she would sound great singing the saucy but largely forgotten Yancy-Jackson mid-’70s track by R&B vocalist Ronnie Dyson called “The More You Do It (the More I Like It Done to Me)”. The hits helped Cole win the prestigious Grammy for Best New Artist.

During her career, Cole established herself as a superstar on the level of her famous father, earning hits with “This Will Be”, “Inseparable” and “Our Love”. She was always so kind & exuded so much grace.

On this album, she fully embraced her father’s legacy by performing updated jazz-pop versions of his signature hits, including “Paper Moon”, “Straighten Up and Fly Right”, “L-O-V-E”, “Route 66” and “Mona Lisa” that evoked vivid memories of her father even as they allowed her to reassert her own distinctive style and broad resources as a vocalist.

“We had no idea of the magnitude of the personalities around us”, she wrote in her memoir, “Angel On My Shoulder” (2000), co-authored with Digby Diehl.

“I had to hold back the tears”, Franklin said in a statement.

Given that Natalie Cole had neither the improv chops nor the artistic bohemianism of, say, jazz mavericks like Dianne Reeves or Cassandra Wilson, her jazz discography (including records like 1993’s Take a Look, 1996’s Stardust and 2008’s Still Unforgettable) is competent, genteel, tasteful and respectable, but hardly transcendent.

Cole’s greatest success came with her 1991 album, “Unforgettable…” Her performance garnered a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. While attending the University of MA and studying psychology, she sang in nightclubs, and was often billed as “Nat King Cole’s daughter”.

She made her debut at the age of 6 while recording Christmas song with her father.

One of Natalie Cole’s most memorable albums was her 1991 release, Unforgettable…With Love. Eventually, she was signed to Capitol Records, her father’s label.

“I still love recording and still love the stage”, she said on her website in 2008, “but like my dad, I have the most fun when I am in front of that glorious orchestra or that kick-butt big band”. The latter was one of the first artists to pay tribute to Cole when her death was announced on Thursday “from continuing health issues”. During the discussion with the physician who diagnosed the virus, she was told that it often remained dormant in the body, sometimes for decades. Complications with Hepatitis C affected her kidneys, which she attributed to well-documented drug abuse earlier in her life. The hepatitis led to the need for a kidney transplant back in May 2009, as well as having to undergo chemotherapy. In 2009, she explained to CNN’s Larry King that her kidneys were failing and needed dialysis three times a week until she had liver replacement that same year.