Wow… the hits just keep coming. First Wayne Rogers, better known as Trapper John, passed away yesterday. Now, the legendary R&B singer Natalie Cole just passed at the age of 65. Cole had fought substance abuse and she was getting chemo for Hepatitis C. She lost her fight today from congestive heart failure on the first day of 2016 in the hospital. In 2009, she received a kidney from an anonymous donor after contracting Hepatitis C from earlier drug use. She appeared in June of 2014 at the Apollo Theater’s 80th birthday celebration.
From the New York Daily News:
Chart-topping R&B singer Natalie Cole, who followed her famous father in the music business with hits like “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) and “Unforgettable,” died at age 65.
Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace,” tweeted the Rev. Jesse Jackson on New Year’s Day.
Cole, who had struggled with a variety of health issues in recent years, died at a Los Angles hospital, according to TMZ.com.
The daughter of music legend Nat King Cole scored a huge 1991 hit with “Unforgettable” — a virtual duet with her late father. He died before his daughter launched her solo career. Cole was married three times and has a son. Even in the midst of her struggles with substance abuse, Natalie Cole was incredibly optimistic and she was a fighter. “I think that I am a walking testimony that you can have scars,” she told CBS’s Sunday Morning in 2006. “You can go through turbulent times and still have victory in your life.” At age six, Cole recorded a duet with her father, I’m Good Will, You’re Christmas Spirit. By age 11, she was performing alongside him on his television show. When Cole was 15, her father died of lung cancer. While performing at a club called Mr. Kelley’s, she was discovered by R&B producers Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy (whom she married in 1976 and with whom she had her son, Robbie, in 1977). In 1974, she had her first hit, This Will Be, from her debut album, Inseparable. The song won her the Best New Artist Grammy in 1975, the first of nine she would win throughout her career. May Natalie Cole rest in peace… her talent and love for life will be sorely missed.
Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is an editor and writer for Right Wing News. She owns and blogs at NoisyRoom.net. She is a Constitutional Conservative and NoisyRoom focuses on political and national issues of interest to the American public. Terresa is the editor at Trevor Loudon's site, New Zeal - trevorloudon.com. She also does research at KeyWiki.org. You can email Terresa here. NoisyRoom can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.