Natalie Cole

Natalie Maria Cole was born in Los Angeles on February 6, 1950. She was born into musical royalty, as her father, Nat 'King' Cole, was one of the most popular and successful entertainers of the 1940s and '50s, and her mother, Maria Hawkins, once sang with Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Natalie made her professional debut at the age of 10 in the musical Sights and Sounds: The Merry World of Nat King Cole, starring her famous father. At the age of 12, she was the lead singer of a teenage jazz trio called the Malibu Music Men. Natalie was shattered by her father's death in 1965. She and her siblings relocated to Massachusetts with their mother, who had remarried. Natalie attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and started singing with a local bar band called Black Magic. In 1972, she received a degree in child psychology, and started getting booked more often for club gigs. In 1974, she signed with Capitol, the same label her father recorded for, and released Inseparable in '75. The album went gold, while the singles "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" and the title track topped the Billboard R&B chart. She won two Grammys in 1976, including the Best New Artist award. Her second album, Natalie (1976), also went gold and earned her another Grammy for her third R&B No. 1 hit, "Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady)." She married her co-producer/songwriter Marvin Yancy in 1976, and had son Robert Adam in 1978. Unpredictable (1977) became Natalie's first platinum album, and produced another R&B chart topper: "I've Got Love On My Mind." The follow-up, Thankful (1978), sold over a million copies, and included her fifth soul No. 1 hit, "Our Love," which also cracked the pop top ten. 1978's The Natalie Cole Special was televised nationally and became the gold-selling double album, Natalie Live!. In 1979, she released I Love You So and We're The Best Of Friends, which also featured soul vocalist Peabo Bryson.



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, sharing the moment.