Unforgettable

January 1, 2016 1:00 PM

Singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of music great Nat King Cole who became a recording star in her own right with hits that spanned three decades, has died, her publicist, Maureen O’Connor, said. She was 65 years old. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, O'Connor said.
posted by hippybear (37 comments total)

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posted by drezdn at 1:05 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Karmeliet at 1:06 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Thorzdad at 1:08 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by jim in austin at 1:12 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Splunge at 1:14 PM on January 1, 2016

When I saw reports of her death trending on twitter I had that brief hope it was a hoax.

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posted by NorthernLite at 1:23 PM on January 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

She had a gorgeous voice. I am sorry to hear this.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 1:25 PM on January 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

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posted by octothorpe at 1:27 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Seekerofsplendor at 1:40 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by fraula at 1:40 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by skye.dancer at 1:43 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by cookie-k at 1:48 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by angelchrys at 1:51 PM on January 1, 2016

Let's try not to diminish the accomplishments of a gifted woman on the day she dies by talking about her in terms of who her dad was. She won multiple Grammies and inspired countless female R'n'B singers. It's only been a few hours but I'm already tired of seeing headlines like "Natalie Cole, daughter of..." - it's 2016. We can do better than that.

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posted by kariebookish at 2:03 PM on January 1, 2016 [17 favorites]

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posted by Feisty at 2:05 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Fibognocchi at 2:13 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by annieb at 2:27 PM on January 1, 2016

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She had the curse of emerging in the midst of the Disco Era, in a flood of mostly-interchangeable 'girl vocalists' and Donna Summer as the 'one true breakout'. But she stood out for me from day one. Still, when she finally gave in to the pressure to release the "duet with late father" version of 'Unforgettable', it made it sadly inevitable that all her obits would start with "daughter of Nat 'King' Cole". Let's not belittle her father, who was truly the smoothest of the smooth voices of the 'right-before-rock-took-over' era and whose death from lung cancer was extra tragically ironic. But let us now honor the singer I like to call 'Queen' Cole.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:27 PM on January 1, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by discopolo at 2:33 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by nicebookrack at 2:41 PM on January 1, 2016

She had a gorgeous voice and a gift for song interpretation. What an enormous loss.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:54 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by RainyJay at 2:58 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by oheso at 3:12 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by mumimor at 3:30 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by droplet at 4:00 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:23 PM on January 1, 2016

Oh god, that voice.

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posted by BlahLaLa at 4:34 PM on January 1, 2016

My high school band played "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" after her arrangement. That song always reminds me of the fall of 1992.

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posted by pxe2000 at 4:38 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by pianoblack at 4:50 PM on January 1, 2016

Oh, sad. I saw her perform just a few years ago.
posted by suelac at 5:23 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Sheydem-tants at 5:45 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by Wolof at 5:47 PM on January 1, 2016

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posted by oneironaut at 6:15 AM on January 2, 2016

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posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 6:56 AM on January 2, 2016

I will miss her voice.
posted by theora55 at 7:50 AM on January 2, 2016

Beautiful, exquisite.
Underrated by arrangements - In life and music.
posted by DonnyMac at 7:05 PM on January 3, 2016

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posted by Alnedra at 8:27 PM on January 3, 2016