R&B singer Natalie Cole, who enjoyed top ten hits in the 1980s with Pink Cadillac and Miss You Like Crazy, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 65.
The first born daughter of ’50s and ’60s crooner Nat “King” Cole, Natalie first tasted success in the UK when her 1975 single This Will Be reached the top forty, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that she returned to the UK charts. Originally the B-side of Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 hit Dancing in the Dark, Cole’s cover of Pink Cadillac reached number 5 in the UK in April 1988. After further hits including Everlasting, Jump Start and I Live For Your Love Cole scored her biggest UK hit in June 1989 when Miss You Like Crazy reached number 2. Her most successful album Good To Be Back reached the top ten around the same time.
Natalie’s last UK hit came in 1991 when she added her vocals to her late father’s recording of Unforgettable, the resulting duet reaching number 19. The song’s parent album Unforgettable… With Love, a tribute to her father, reached number 11 in the UK and went on to win six Grammys. After being diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2008, Cole underwent a kidney transplant. She continued to perform, but cancelled a number of shows in recent months as her health deteriorated. Natalie died in hospital on New Year’s Eve, leaving behind a son.
