Natalie will be missed like crazy

Natalie Cole was born to music royalty. As the daughter of the great song artist Nat King Cole and of singer Maria Ellington, she was a princess in a privileged existence expected to one day wear the crown. And most fittingly she did. From the moment she opened her mouth to record This Will Be An Everlasting Love in 1976, Natalie showed she was to the manor born. She not only proved herself a worthy successor to her legendary father. She was also set to establish and rule her own turf across many years with a long succession of hit songs.

Early in the evening of last Dec.  31, news came that Natalie had died from congestive heart failure in a hospital in Los Angeles. The news was not really a surprise. Natalie looked weak and unfocused when she came over to perform with the David Foster & Friends show last year. She seemed so unlike the Natalie I had seen before and did not sound like her former self at all. She must not have been really feeling well but had a show to do. I remembered how she stood on the Araneta Coliseum stage and sang alone, no dancers, no props, no stunning audio-visual exhibitions and completely mesmerized the audience.

But then I thought, she had always bounced back from her health problems before. There was the addiction to heroin and cocaine that came early in her career. It was from the use of intravenous needles that she contacted the hepatitis C that damaged her liver. She later suffered from kidney failure but recovered after a donor was found. And for a while there it looked like her health issues were over. She was once more beautiful and sounded great. That enchanting album Natalie Cole En Espanol came after all those. But sad to say, it turned out that she never really recovered.

I love the sound of Natalie Cole. She had this flawless, effortless kind of singing that is so appealing. She made a lot of other divas around sound like screeching wannabes. She can go from hot R&B like Mr. Melody, to jazz, Take A Look, standards, Too Young, Stardust and even sentimental ballads a la Barry Manilow in Miss You Like Crazy. I spent a lot of time playing her Christmas album The Holly And The Ivy a few weeks ago. Now several years old, it remains a wonderful listen and her version of Grown Up Christmas List is certainly one of the best ever.

And who can forget her landmark duet recordings of her father’s hits. Unforgettable, produced by Foster, sold nearly eight million copies and added several Grammys to her already impressive collection. These included Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Traditional Pop Performance. Her other Grammys came from This Will Be An Everlasting Love as Best New Artist and for R&B Vocal Performance; Sophisticated Lady also for Best R&B Vocal Performance; Take A Look for Best Jazz Vocal Performance; When I Fall In Love, another duet with Nat Cole for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration; and Still Unforgettable for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

At a time when older celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Bob Dylan, and many others are still rocking the joint, losing somebody like Natalie feels really unfortunate. But of course, there is no way she will not be remembered.

Inseparable, I Can’t Say No, I’ve Got Love On My Mind, Our Love, We’re The Best Of Friends, Someone That I Used To Love, I Live For Your Love, Pink Cadillac, Good To Be Back, Long ‘Bout Midnight, Song For You, Say You Love Me, Snowfall On The Sahara, I’m Catchin’ Hell, A Smile Like Yours, Our Love, Living For Love, Angel On My Shoulder, Starting Over Again, Too Young, Your Lonely Heart, Nothing But A Fool, Gimme Some Time, Stand By, Party Lights and others.

For your best time with Natalie, check out her Greatest Hits collections, the Love Songs compilation, Unforgettable With Love, Natalie Cole En Espanol for the gorgeous Quizas Quizas Quizas and when the Season comes around, The Holly And The Ivy.