natalie cole
Natalie Cole was born the second of five children on February 6, 1950 to the legendary singer Nat “King” Cole and his wife Maria Cole (who, before her marriage to Nat, was a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra). [1]
The daughter of jazz and pop legend Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole has forged a successful career in two phases, doing R&B/urban contemporary and then jazz-based pop. [2]
Natalie Cole started out as a R&B chart topper, got bogged down in Hollywood excess, and then pulled herself out by the bootstraps by visiting the same classic Jazz Pop vein as her legendary father, Nat “King” Cole. [3]
Her follow-up album, Natalie, in 1976 yielded the hit single “Sophisticated Lady” from which she won another Grammy award. [1]
The mid to late 70’s saw Natalie produce platinum and gold albums, A TV Special in April of 1978 The Natalie Cole Special (which fans the world around are begging for another chance to see!), and a live album simply entitled Natalie…Live! [4]
She fully embraced the move with the 1991 LP Unforgettable: With Love, earning Grammy Awards and landing a number one pop album that eventually sold over five million copies. [2]
She achieved success in her early career as an R&B star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more jazz orientated musical style in the early 1990s. [...] Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950) is an influential American singer-songwriter and performer who has won ten Grammy Awards. [...] Cole sang on her father’s Christmas album at the age of six, and she began performing at the age of 11. [5]
For Mahattan Records, Natalie Cole began her true comback with hits like Jump Start My Heart produced by one of the Calloway brother’s of Midnight Star fame. [...] Natalie was born into a very musical family, Her father was a world reknowned jazz pianist and singer. [4]
Cole eased into the transition with “When I Fall in Love,” a number her father recorded in 1957. [2]
She gained a new generation of fans when American Idol finalists Jasmine Trias and Kimberley Locke sang “Inseparable” on the show to extremely good reviews. [5]
At some point, she hooked up with a band in Amherst as lead singer and they played jazz as well as rock. [1]
Her performance of the song won her a 1976 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. [5]
Sources:
[1] Natalie Cole Biography
[2] Natalie Cole: Biography from Answers.com
[3] Natalie Cole Music Online, Music Downloads, Music Videos and Lyrics …
[4] Simply Unforgettable- The Natalie Cole Story
[5] Natalie Cole - Wikipedia