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Natalie Cole
Cole, Natalie (born 1950), African American singer. As the daughter of the legendary crooner Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole biggest challenge was to develop her own style. For two decades she performed contemporary rhythm and blues fused with jazz, rock, and soul; however, she achieved her greatest commercial and critical success with Unforgettable (1991), a double album celebrating her father 39's classics.Natalie Maria Cole was born on Feb. 6, 1950, in Los Angeles, Calif., to Nat King Cole and his wife, Maria Hawkins, a former vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The second of five children, Natalie grew up in a comfortable, prosperous environment. She adored her father, though he toured extensively and was seldom home. Growing up in the 1960s, Natalies taste ran to rock and roll, so her father subtly tried to influence her by slipping in records of female jazz singers like Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nancy Wilson. When she was 11 he gave her a tape player that she used to record her own versions of popular songs. She thought she had a terrible voice and planned to pursue a career in medicine, not entertainment.
Fifteen-year-old Natalie was devastated when her father died of lung cancer. Her mother remarried and the family moved to Massachusetts. After graduating from high school she enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, then transferred to the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. She returned to Amherst and received a degree in child psychology in 1972. Taking a summer job singing with a bar band made her realize how much she loved performing.
Soon Cole was getting more frequent bookings. Inevitably, she faced comparisons with her father, and she struggled to establish her own identity with a style that fused rhythm and blues with rock. She made her New York City debut in 1973. The following year she met Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, songwriters and record producers who landed Cole her first label contract with Capitol Records and produced her debut album as well as many subsequent albums. Inseparable (1975), which featured the hit singles This Will Be and the title track , went gold and earned Cole her first Grammy awards. The following year Cole released Natalie (1976), which also went gold and earned her another Grammy for the hit single Sophisticated.
Cole married Marvin Yancy in 1976 and gave birth to a son, Robert Adam, the following year. Meanwhile, she continued recording. Unpredictable (1977) hit the charts and earned Cole her first platinum album. She earned her second platinum album for Thankful (1978), which featured the hit single Our Love The nationally televised show The Natalie Cole Special spawned the two-album set Natalie Live (1978). In her next album, Were the Best of Friends (1979), Cole collaborated with soul singer Peavo Bryson.
Poised to become the greatest black female singer in the United States, Cole was often compared to legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin, a comparison that created friction between the two women. At the same time, Cole was battling her own demons; she sank into a period of depression and became increasingly dependent on drugs and alcohol. She also separated from Yancy. Shortly before entering a drug treatment center, Cole released Im Ready (1983). She emerged from rehab to suffer another setback when her estranged husband died of a heart attack in 1985. Her next album, Dangerous (1985), had only modest sales.
comeback began with Everlasting (1987), which contained three hit singles: Jump Start I Live For Your Love and a reworking of Bruce Springsteens Pink Cadillac. Good To Be Back (1989) continued her upswing with the hit singles Miss You Like Crazy and a jazzy remake of Dinah Washingtons Someones Rocking My Dreamboat. Cole switched producers frequently over her career. She married one of them, Andre Fischer, in 1989.
Cole attained her greatest success with Unforgettable (1991) the 22-song double album featuring Nat King Coles classics: Smile, The Very Thought of You, Too Young, Mona Lisa, and the title track that earned Cole several Grammy awards. The album was electronically engineered to simulate father-and-daughter singing duets. Having established her own identity, Cole was finally able to embrace her father music. She paid tribute to famous black female singers Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughn with Take A Look (1993). A Christmas album, Holly & Ivy (1994), followed next and once again highlighted her fathers music. A compilation of her career work appeared in Stardust (1996)
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