Natalie Cole

Even though Natalie’s career took a pause in the early 1980s due to the surrounding drug addiction environment, by 1985 the superstar returned to both good physical and career health. In 2008, Natalie revealed that she had hepatitis C as a result of her drug history and has learned from her past: “I’ve been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences. I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life.” Unlike some of her peers who never admit to or never recover from their past drug abuse, Natalie is an honest and optimistic survivor.

Not only does Natalie differ from her contemporaries on a personal level, but her music also stands apart (and above). Unlike contemporary music, Natalie’s music creates a beautiful mys-tique. According to the musician, “many songwriters these days seem to feel that they have to tell it all. They don’t allow the audience to imagine. Everything is so graphic – there is no mystery.” An extraordinary example of contrast is evident in the songs on her 2008 album Still Unforgettable, whose songs she explains “go deeper into the treasure chest of great American songwriting, with lyrics and melodies that touch you and soothe you, appealing to your intellectual side, but most of all, appealing to your heart. . . .” There is no better way to express how incredible this album is – perhaps because Natalie’s ex-planation (much like her songs) comes straight from her heart.

This amazing album was much anticipated after Natalie’s 1991 album release Unforgettable...with Love, which pays homage to her late father. With her family’s encouragement and assistance, she successfully rearranged and re-recorded some of his greatest songs in the same studio that he recorded (Capitol Studios). Can you imagine trying to re-create these original masterpieces by keeping them in tact, yet adding something new and fresh that would not detract from the original? “It is a bit of an art to pick the songs and then ‘marry’ them with the right arranger,” says Natalie. She and her co-producer “sat for hours and talked through each song and why it would work according to the personality and style of the individual arranger. Then we sat down with each arranger and talked the songs through again [and] what I wanted to accomplish, even down to specifics on whether to modulate a key or how the song should start.” Dedication, passion, and soul are the words that come to mind when I think of this talented performer.

T R I V I A

• Ranked #92 on VH1´s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

• Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (A historically African-American Public Service Sorority, founded at Howard University in Washington, DC in 1913)

• Awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1750 Vine Street

• Received a kidney transplant on May 19, 2009, the same day that her sister, Carol Cole, died

• Her autobiography was turned into a made-for- TV movie, The Natalie Cole Story

• In 1990, "Wild Women Do" was featured behind the credits and on the soundtrack album of the Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman

• Loves butterflies