Natalie Cole, R&B and jazz singer, dies aged 65 Thursday Dec 31,2015

 

Natalie Cole, whose hit songs included the duet Unforgettable with her father Nat "King" Cole, has died aged 65 on Thursday night Dec 31,2015 at a hospital in Los Angeles,USA

Natalie Cole was married three times, and had one son

Nat "King" Cole and Maria Cole, with daughters Natalie (left) and Carol "Cookie," 1954

Natalie was born in 1950, and twins Timolin and Casey in 1961.

 Another child, Carol, known as "Cookie," was adopted in 1949


Natalie Cole's greatest success came with her 1991 album, Unforgettable... 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.

On the hit track Unforgettable, her voice was remixed with her father's, 25 years after his death.
The album went on to win six Grammys, including album of the year, as well as song of the year for the title track.

Natalie Cole,the daughter of crooner Cole and jazz singer Maria Hawkins - who worked with Duke Ellington - Natalie grew up surrounded by music in an affluent neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
Her father died from lung cancer when she was only 15, and she struggled to come to terms with his death. However, she appeared to find solace in music.
She began performing in college and had early success with her debut album Inseparable in 1975. The album track, This Will Be, became a top ten hit and went on to win Cole a Grammy for best female R&B performance.
Cole was also named best new artist at the Grammys - and the album's title track, Inseparable, became another chart hit
The follow-up albums Natalie and Unpredictable cemented her success, with tracks such as Sophisticated Lady and I've Got Love On My Mind bringing further chart glory.

 

In 1977, she had two platinum albums and her own Christmas special - and two years later she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Natalie Cole's drug issues came to prominence in the 1980s and there followed a predictable slump in her career, as she battled addiction.

Natalie Cole  re-emerged on the music scene in 1987, signed to a new label and with a new sound. Jump Start (My Heart) and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's Pink Cadillac were among her notable pop hits, while 1989's Miss You Like Crazy won her international acclaim.

In 2008, 17 years after Unforgettable... with Love, Cole released Still Unforgettable, which included not only songs made famous by her father but other artists, including Frank Sinatra.

In 2008 , she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C - which she believed was the result of her intravenous drug use in the early years of her fame.
Her battle with drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, was charted in her 2000 autobiography Angel on my Shoulder.
She underwent a successful kidney transplant in 2009 - after being inundated with offers of kidneys from fans - and continued to tour and make public appearances on TV shows, including American Idol.