Natalie Cole, ‘Unforgettable’ R&B Singer, Dead at 65

The daughter of legendary singer-songwriter Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole carved out a distinctive career as a singer in her own right, with such hits as “This Will Be” and “Unforgettable”, a virtual duet with her late father. TMZ reports that she died at a Los Angeles hospital, and that the cause was “congestive heart failure, although we’re told the underlying medical issues were complications from a kidney transplant and Hepatitis C”. She canceled all of her concert appearances for November and December due to unspecified health reasons, which reportedly involved hospitalization. The platinum-selling album helped Cole win both Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1976 Grammys.

“Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound”.

Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole, rose to fame with songs such as “Unforgettable” and “This Will Be”.

Cole won nine Grammy Awards during a career that spanned more than three decades – the last in 2009 for “Still Unforgettable”.

Cole debuted in 1975 with Inseparable, from which her chart-topping and still-iconic single “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” was derived.

You can listen to the rest of that interview here, where she discusses releasing an album in Spanish. She started singing at the age of 6 when she recorded I’m Good Will, Your Christmas Spirit with her father. With Love, which paid tribute to her father with reworked versions of some of his best-known songs, including That Sunday That Summer, Too Young and Mona Lisa.

Cole was married 3 times and has a son, Robert Adam “Robbie” Yancy, 38.