Natalie Cole, Grammy winning singer, has died

In a press conference during her 2009 guest appearance with the Choir Cole said, “I really think we are here to honor our Lord Jesus Christ”. The album was a tremendous hit, earning five Grammys in 1992, including Album, Record and Song of the Year, the latter for her duet on “Unforgettable” with her father via digital studio wizardry.

She took that star quality and put it to good use, joining her dad for the first time onstage at the tender age of 11. Cole later followed that with another posthumous duet with her father with “When I Fall in Love”. As she grew up without her father’s guidance, Cole never abandoned music.

Though Nat “King” Cole died when Natalie was 15, his music lived on through many of Natalie’s albums. Yet she was about to find her own voice. She is survived by son Robbie, her sisters, brothers-in-law Gary Augustus and Julian Hooker, and nephews Julian, Justin, Sage and Harleigh. “With Love”, (it hit No. 1 on Billboard’s jazz chart and No. 19 on the Top 200), but also won Cole another Grammy, for Best Traditional Pop Vocals.

Cole won nine Grammy Awards during a career that spanned more than three decades – the last in 2009 for “Still Unforgettable”. Treatment for that disease led to the deterioration of her kidneys and she frequently needed dialysis in the last few years of her life.

She battled a drug addiction in the ’70s before she entered rehab in 1983 and went on to stage a comeback.

In 1991, she released the multiple Grammy winning album – “Unforgettable…” Other hits included “Our Love” and the reworked “Pink Cadillac”, a song originally by Bruce Springsteen. In February 2008, the singer announced she was diagnosed with hepatitis C. A year later she underwent a kidney transplant.

Esther offered Cole her kidney. I don’t remember what I sounded like, I was too much in awe of her. A month later, she had a donor-a fan. Deeply saddened by Cole’s passing on December 31 at the age of 65, LaBelle told Billboard via email, “She was a attractive spirit, a consummate artist and an inspiration to so many”. “Looking back, it seems that I dove head first into every black hole I encountered, and before I knew it I was stuck and having to claw my way out”.

Casey, Timolin, and Cole’s son enjoyed several days together during which Cole thanked them for their support, saying, “I love you all”. “Instead of 90-minute shows, maybe I’ll only do 60”.