Singer Natalie Cole Has Died at 65

Singer and songwriter Natalie Cole, daughter of iconic jazz performer Nat King Cole, died yesterday, December 31, in Los Angeles. The cause was congestive heart failure following "ongoing health issues." She was 65.

Cole was born in Los Angeles in February 6, 1950, to Nat King Cole and Maria Hawkins Ellington. She began singing professionally as a child, with her voice being heard on her father's Christmas album at the age of 6. At age 11, Cole began performing professionally. She attended Northfield School and went on to college at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she majored in child psychology and minored in German.

Following graduation, Cole began singing rock and R&B covers at clubs with her band, Black Magic. Eventually, she was signed to Capitol Records, her father's label. Her 1975 song "This Will Be" led her to her first two Grammys, and her success would continue for the next several years, as she received an R&B Grammy for "Sophisticated Lady" and her 1977 album Unpredictable went platinum. In 1976, Cole performed a short self-titled concert special at Broadway's Winter Garden Theater from November 23-November 28.

Cole's top-selling album was 1991's Unforgettable…With Love, on which she sang songs her father had recorded. The album, which included a duet between Cole and her father on the title song, "Unforgettable," won Cole three Grammys, including Album of the Year.

Cole was set to make her Broadway debut in 2014 as a guest star in Warren Carlyle's After Midnight, following in the footsteps of Fantasia Barrino, Vanessa Williams, and Patti LaBelle, from August 5-31. Unfortunately, her appearance in the production was canceled when the show closed on June 29.

The last of Cole's nine Grammys came with her 2008 standards collection Still Unforgettable.

Cole is survived by her son, Robert Yancy, as well as two sisters, Timolin Cole and Casey Cole.