Natalie Cole
(born Natalie Maria Cole
; February 6, 1950) is an influential American singer-songwriter and performer who has won nine Grammy Awards. She achieved success in her early career as an R&B star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more pop and jazz oriented musical style in the early 1990s.
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NATALIE COLE TICKETS
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Early life
Natalie Maria Cole was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of noted
crooner Nat King Cole and former
Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Cole. Raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of
Los Angeles, just a few doors down from the
California governor.
[1] Regarding her childhood, Cole has referred to her family as "the black
Kennedys" and as a child, exposed to many great singers of
jazz,
soul and
blues at the early age of six sang on her father's Christmas album and later began performing at age 11.
Cole grew up with older adopted sister
Carole "Cookie" (1944-2009) (her mother Maria's younger sister's daughter); adopted brother Nat "Kelly" Cole (1959-1995), and younger twin sisters Timolin and Casey (born 1961).
[2] [3]
Her
paternal uncle
Freddy Cole is an accomplished singer/pianist with numerous CDs and awards to his credit. Cole was 15 years old when her father died of
lung cancer in February 1965. Soon afterwards she began having a difficult relationship with her mother. Her mother then moved the family to Massachusetts, where Cole attended the
Northfield Mount Hermon School in
Northfield, Massachusetts. She enrolled in the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. She briefly transferred back to
University of Southern California and there she pledged the Epsilion
Theta chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.. She transferred back to the University of Massachusetts, where she majored in Child Psychology and minored in German. Cole graduated in 1972. Cole stated in an interview that she did not connect with her cultural heritage or "blackness" until she attended college.
Music career
Early career
By the time she graduated from college, Cole had already begun her singing career. On weekends, Cole was singing at a place on North Pleasant Street in Amherst called "The Pub". During her college years, Cole fell victim to the ravages of drugs (mainly heroin) and once, while traveling back from a performance, in
Canada was arrested for heroin possession and later sentenced to probation but had to stay in
Canada to serve it. During this time, she met producers Chuck Jackson (
Jesse Jackson's half-brother) and Marvin Yancy at a nighclub called Mr. Kelley's. Often compared to Aretha Franklin, this partnership produced hits such as: "
This Will Be", "
Inseparable", "
Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)", "Mr. Melody", "
I've Got Love on My Mind", "
Our Love", "I Cant Say No", "Party Lights", "I'm Catching Hell", "Be Thankful", "Annie May", and "Sorry". Chuck and Marvin had worked together to produce music for
The Independents and
Aretha Franklin.
Her debut album in 1975,
Inseparable
, resulted in chart success with the single "This Will Be" (#1 R&B, #6 Pop)and won her a 1976 Grammy for
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. This was news because Queen Of Soul
Aretha Franklin had won this category 8 years in a row from 1967-1975. Natalie was also awarded the Best New Artist Grammy of 1976 and again Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 1977 for "Sophisticated Lady." From 1975-79, Natalie gardnered four gold (Inseperable, Natalie, Were The Best Of Friends with Peabo Bryson, I Love You So) and two platinum (Unpredictable and Thankful) albums. In 1979, she was awarded a star on Hollywood's famed Walk of Stars. Natalie gained a new generation of fans when
American Idol finalists
Jasmine Trias and
Kimberley Locke sang "Inseparable" on the show to extremely good reviews.
More hits followed, including "Someone That I Used to Love" (1980). Her biggest pop hits, 1977's "I've Got Love on My Mind" and "Our Love" both earned
Gold single certifications.
Career detour and resurgence
Cole's career paused in the early 1980s as she dealt with her severe drug problem. By 1985, Cole was back in good health, and began a comeback.
Her first step was with the album
Dangerous
, released on the Modern label. In 1987, she released
Everlasting
(on EMI Manhattan) which sold over 2 million copies in the
U.S., and won Cole a
Soul Train Award for
Female Single of the Year
for the #1 R&B ballad "I Live for Your Love". The album garnered her three major hit singles: "Jump Start," "I Live For Your Love" (#2 AC and #13 Pop as well as #1 R&B, as well as #21 UK [on re-release]), and a remake of
Bruce Springsteen's "
Pink Cadillac" (#5 Pop, #16 AC, and #1 Dance, #5 UK). The album also included a remake of one of her father's signature hits, "When I Fall In Love," which did moderately well on the AC chart.
In 1989, another album,
Good To Be Back
, gave her another chart success: "
Miss You Like Crazy" (#1 both R&B and AC, and #7 Pop, plus #2 UK).
Unforgettable...with Love
Cole may be best remembered for her 1991 album,
Unforgettable... with Love
, featuring her own arrangements of her father's greatest hits. Though when she was younger, Cole was reluctant to capitalize on her father's name and wanted to forge her own identity by going after the soul market in earnest, on this album she admitted to being Nat King Cole's daughter and pledged her complete devotion to her father and his music. She said that she "felt" his presence while recording. She sang 22 songs from Nat King Cole's collection. Singles included "
The Very Thought of You", "
Mona Lisa" and "
Route 66" The most fascinating song on the album was "
Unforgettable." With a little help from technology, Cole performed the song as a duet with her father using her father's original recording.
Her decision to record the songs was a chart success; the album sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone, and won Cole several Grammy Awards, including
Album of the Year
,
Record of the Year
, and
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
. The album featured a
duet, the title track, with her father, created by splicing a recording of his vocals into the track. As a single, it reached #14 on
Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart amd #10 on the R&B chart, and went gold.
Additional albums
Cole has released several more s in the years since, appearing in the pop singles charts occasionally (such as with "A Smile Like Yours" in 1997). Her albums sell well and she is considered one of the core artists of the
smooth jazz format, garnering frequent airplay on smooth jazz radio stations with both her classic songs and her newer material.
In 1995, she performed in
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True
a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the
Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996.
Her 1999 album
Snowfall on the Sahara
marked a return to the easy adult-contemporary soul that categorized her late-1980s hits. Then for 2002's critically-praised
Ask a Woman Who Knows
, she turned again toward the jazz side of the spectrum, covering songs made famous by
Dinah Washington,
Nina Simone, and
Sarah Vaughan.
In September 2006, she released
Leavin
, a cover album of tracks made popular by
Shelby Lynne,
Kate Bush,
Sting, and
Fiona Apple, and others. The album is a hybrid of
rock,
pop music, and
R&B.
Cole's latest album
Still Unforgettable
was released September 9, 2008. The first single and video is another virtual duet with her father, a cover of his 1951 hit "
Walkin' My Baby Back Home".
Still Unforgettable
won the
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the
51st Grammy Awards.
Television and film
Cole has carved out a secondary career in acting. She has also appeared several times in live concerts or other music related programs, including the 1988
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute with sidemen
Richard Campbell,
Jeffrey Worrell,
Eddie Cole and
Dave Joyce. In 1990, she (along with jazz vocalist
Al Jarreau) sang the song "Mr. President" on
HBO's
Comic Relief
special, hosted by
Whoopi Goldberg,
Robin Williams and
Billy Crystal. After
Johnny Mathis appeared on a special of Cole's in 1980, the two kept in contact, and in 1992, he invited Cole to be a part of his television special titled "A Tribute To Nat Cole" for
BBC-TV in
England. It had high viewer ratings and was successful. From that project, an album with the same name was released, and featured several medley and solo numbers.
Cole has made a number of dramatic appearances on television, including guest appearances on
I'll Fly Away
,
Touched by an Angel
, and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
. In 2006, she made a memorable guest appearance on the popular
ABC show
Grey's Anatomy
as a
terminally ill patient. Her character visited Seattle Grace Hospital to have a fork removed from her neck that her husband had stabbed her with during a mishap; the couple had been having
sex in public.
[4]
Cole has also made several appearances in feature films, most recently in the
Cole Porter biopic
De-Lovely
. She has appeared in several
made-for-TV movies, most notably as the lead in
Lily in Winter
. Cole was featured on Macy Gray's album
Big
, singing "Finally Make Me Happy".
She also sang the
national anthem with the
Atlanta University Center Chorus at
Super Bowl XXVIII.
On December 2, 2006, Cole performed for the first time in
Grand Cayman,
Cayman Islands, as part of the annual Cayman Jazz Fest.
[5]
On the February 5, 2007, episode of
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
, Cole sang "
I Say a Little Prayer" at a benefit dinner for
Harriet Hayes (
Sarah Paulson).
She can also be seen in the last scene of
Nas' music video for "
Can't Forget About You". The song uses a
sample of her father's song "
Unforgettable". Cole is sitting at a piano in a
cabaret-style lounge mouthing her father's song with Nas standing beside her.
Natalie Cole also performed "
Somethings Gotta Give" on
American Idol on April 29, 2009.
Filmography
NOTE: this filmography is not yet completed
Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
1990
| "Comic Relief" (HBO Special)
| (performed)
|
1992
| A Tribute To Nat King Cole
(BBC Special)
| (performed)
|
2004
| De-Lovely
| Musical performer
|
|
2006
| Grey's Anatomy
| Terminally ill patient
|
|
Personal life
Cole has been married three times. She married Marvin Yancy on July 31, 1976, by whom she has a son Robert Adam Yancy (born October 1977); he is now a musician who tours with her. Marvin was her producer, and an ordained
Baptist minister who helped reintroduce her to religion. Under his influence, Cole changed from a lapsed
Episcopalian to become a devout Baptist.
[6] Cole and Yancy divorced in 1980; Yancy died of a heart attack in 1985, aged 34.
[7] In 1989, Cole married record producer Andre Fischer; they divorced in 1995. In 2001, Cole married bishop Kenneth Dupree; they divorced in 2004.
[8]
Drug abuse and recovery
In 2000, Cole released an autobiography,
Angel on My Shoulder
, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life.
- In the book, Cole admitted to using heroin and crack cocaine.
- Cole said she began recreational drug use while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
- She also disclosed that she was arrested in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for possession of heroin in 1975.
- Cole continued to spiral out of control - including one incident where she refused to evacuate a burning building, and another where her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she was on a drug binge. [9] She did eventually enter rehab in 1983. [10]
In concert with the release of the book, her autobiography was turned into a made-for-TV movie,
The Natalie Cole Story
, which aired December 10, 2000 on
NBC.
Health problems
On July 16, 2008, Cole announced that she was diagnosed with
hepatitis C likely caused by her drug use: "I've been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences. I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life." Dr. Graham Woolf, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA/Cedars Sinai Medical Center, said that Cole "had a terrific response to her medication and is now virus negative. This gives her an increased chance of cure. But, she has also suffered significant side effects from the anti-viral medicine, which is the only FDA authorized treatment for hepatitis C. Her side effects include fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration but she is recovering from these. On September 19, 2008 she was rushed to the hospital due to her
Hepatitis C medications.
[11] [12]
Cole has also had struggles with
kidney disease. Before receiving a kidney transplant on May 20, 2009, Cole had been receiving kidney dialysis three times a week while awaiting a
kidney transplant.
[13] During her March 31, 2009 appearance on
Larry King Live "dozens of emails flooded the
CNN studio" with offers for replacement kidneys.
[14]
As of June 2009, Cole has received a kidney transplant. The news of the organ came on the same day her sister Carole died from cancer. Natalie attended the memorial services and continues to heal and grew stronger with her new kidney.
She expects to tour late 2009.
Selective awards and recognitions
Grammy history
Natalie Cole Grammy Award History
[15]
|
Year
| Category
| Title
| Genre
| Result
| Notes
|
2009
| Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
| Still Unforgettable
| Trad Pop
| Winner
|
1996
| Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
| "When I Fall In Love"
| Pop
| Winner
| Natalie Cole (& Nat "King" Cole)
|
Best Traditional Pop Performance
| "Stardust"
| Trad Pop
| Nominee
|
1993
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
| Take a Look
| Jazz
| Winner
|
1991
| Record of the Year
| "Unforgettable"
| General
| Winner
| Natalie Cole (& Nat "King" Cole)
|
Album of the Year
| Unforgettable... with Love
| General
| Winner
|
Best Traditional Pop Performance
| Unforgettable... with Love
| Trad Pop
| Winner
|
Best Jazz Vocal Performance
| "Long 'Bout Midnight"
| Jazz
| Nominee
|
1989
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Duo or Group
| "We Sing Praises"
| R&B
| Nominee
| Natalie Cole & Deniece Williams
|
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| Good to Be Back
| R&B
| Nominee
|
1987
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| Everlasting
| R&B
| Nominee
|
1979
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| I Love You So
| R&B
| Nominee
|
1978
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| "Our Love"
| R&B
| Nominee
|
1977
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| "I've Got Love on My Mind"
| R&B
| Nominee
|
1976
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| "Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)"
| R&B
| Winner
|
Best Pop Vocal Perfomrance, Female
| Natalie
| Pop
| Nominee
|
1975
| Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
| "This Will Be"
| R&B
| Winner
|
Best New Artist of the Year
|
| General
| Winner
|
Other Awards
Natalie Cole Awards
[16]
|
Year
| Category
| Title
| Result
| Notes
|
2002 and 2009
| Best Jazz Artist
| NAACP Image Awards
| Winner
|
2000
| Best Actress - Television Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special
| NAACP Image Awards
| Winner
| Livin for Love: The Natalie Cole Story
[17]
|
1999
| Hitmaker Award
| Songwriters Hall of Fame
| |
1993
| Lifetime Musical Achievement
| The George and Ira Gershwin Award
| Winner
|
1991
| Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary
| American Music Awards
| Winner
|
1978
| Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
| American Music Awards
| Winner
|
1977
| Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues
| American Music Awards
| Winner
|
Discography
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
- Natalie Cole Leaves The Past Behind Cole Experiences Renewal On New Album 'Leavin' - HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (Sept. 24, 2006) by Caitlin A. Johnson - ''CBSnews.com'' Retrieved on 05-23-07
- Simply Unforgettable- The Natalie Cole Story
- Natalie Cole Offers a Candid Look At Her Life in TV One On One Interview Premiering Sunday, Sept. 24 At 9 PM ''Blacknews.com'' Retrieved on 2007-05-23
- http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1172344_3_0_,00.html ''Ew.com'' Retrieved on 05-23-07
- http://www.caymanislands.ky/jazzfest/ ''Caymanislands.com'' Retrieved on 05-23-07
- http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20070791,00.html 8 May 1978 People Magazine
- Social Security Death Index
- Natalie Cole: A Living Legend
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/24/sunday/main2036354_page2.shtml ''CBSnews.com'' Retrieved on 05-23-07
- [1]{{Dead link|date=May 2009}} ''Pqasb.pqarchiver.com'' Retrieved on 05-23-07
- ap.google.com, Natalie Cole says she has hepatitis C
- iht.com, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, Michael J. Fox
- Natalie Cole: My Son May Be My Kidney Donor People.com, February 4, 2009
- [1] Natalie Cole needs kidney, gets offers during show, April 1, 2009
- Grammy Award search engine
- The Envelope: The Award Insider
- Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story (2002)