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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). Natalie (who's nickname is Sweetie) was raised in the elegant Hancock Park district of Los Angeles, California. Music was a big part of her childhood – different kinds of music that also included jazz and rock. Since her Dad was on the same label as the Beatles, he would bring home their latest albums and would also bring those of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Natalie made her singing debut at the age of six on her Dad’s Christmas album. He had given her a tape recorder which she used to tape herself singing a few of Ella’s tunes at age 11. After hearing Natalie’s voice on the tape and being amazed, Nat asked conductor Nelson Riddle to write her into a song in his nightclub act. She performed for a week because she was in school, but it was her first paying job. Nat "King" Cole died of lung cancer when Natalie was 15 years old.
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About Natalie Cole
After Nat "King" Cole’s death, Maria Cole and her children eventually moved to Massachusetts. Natalie was into listening to the rock-‘n’-roll music of singers such as Janis Joplin and the Jefferson Airplane. Natalie enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. When she started at the University, she originally wanted to be a physician. At some point, she hooked up with a band in Amherst as lead singer and they played jazz as well as rock. The one thing that bothered her was that club owners would sometimes bill her as Nat King Cole’s daughter. She received a B.A. degree in child psychology from the University of Massachusetts in 1972 and continued performing. She increasingly won more distinctive venues. She developed her own style, which included the gospel flavor and rhythm-and-blues styles.
Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy (two Chicago-based songwriters and record producers) caught her act at Mister Kelly’s nightclub in Chicago. They liked the range of her talent and took her into the studio to record a demo tape. They began writing original compositions that fit her voice. They contacted the major record labels to obtain a recording contract for Natalie. However, it was Capitol Records, the label Nat "King" Cole had recorded for, who offered Natalie a contract. In 1975, Natalie Cole made her debut album, Inseparable. She took the music industry by storm. Two hit singles resulted which were "Inseparable" and "This Will Be." (Click here for the lyrics to "This Will Be.") Natalie earned a gold record and in 1976 won two Grammy awards. One of the things that I remember the most is how Natalie was compared so much to the singer, Aretha Franklin among others.