Singer Natalie Cole, daughter of the legendary jazz singer Nat “King” Cole, has died. The city last saw Cole when she performed at the Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont in August 2015. She was one of the premiere names on a list of headliners that included New Edition, Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray and Anthony Hamilton.
The Associated Press said that Cole’s publicist, Maureen O’Connor, confirmed that the 65-year-old singer died on Thursday night. She provided no details about how or where Cole died. The singer battled drug problems and hepatitis which forced her to undergo a kidney transplant in 1991.
She followed in her father’s footsteps with the 1991 album “Unforgettable .. With Love,” which featured reworked versions of the elder Cole’s well-known songs. The successful album won six Grammys and sold roughly 14 million copies.
Technology gave Cole the gift of joining her father in a duet of “Unforgettable” for the title track. She sang along with her father’s taped version of the classic. He died of lung cancer in 1965.