60 Fun Facts About Natalie Cole

Natalie's father was which legendary singer and jazz pianist?

Her mother, Maria Hawkins Ellington, had sung with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

What was the title of Natalie Cole's 1975 debut album?

Its title track and "This Will Be" both went to No. 1 on the R&B chart.

Natalie Cole was the first African-American act to win which Grammy Award?

She won it at the 18th Grammys in 1976, the first R&B act to do so.

Which songwriting and producing duo discovered Cole and wrote her early hits?

Yancy later became her first husband and the father of her son Robbie.

Whose Chicago studio did Cole record her first demos in?

The tapes won her a deal with Capitol, her father's old label.

Which singer claimed songs like "This Will Be" were offered to her first, sparking a rivalry with Cole?

Cole beat her for the Best Female R&B Vocal Grammy in 1977, ending an eight-year run.

How high did "This Will Be" climb on the Billboard Hot 100?

It topped the R&B chart and reached the UK Top 40.

Which Capitol Records executive finally agreed to release "This Will Be"?

Jackson and Yancy wrote the song at the end of the sessions, just as they were about to leave town.

"This Will Be" plays over the end titles of which 1998 Lindsay Lohan film?

It also turns up in While You Were Sleeping and Bride Wars.

Which 1976 Cole hit beat her rival's "Something He Can Feel" for the Best Female R&B Vocal Grammy?

It came from her second album, Natalie.

Cole's third album Unpredictable went platinum on the strength of which No. 1 R&B hit?

Its closer "I'm Catching Hell" became a live favourite despite never being a single.

Cole was the first female artist to achieve what feat in 1977?

Unpredictable and Thankful were the two albums.

With which singer did Cole record the 1979 duet album We're the Best of Friends?

She received her Hollywood Walk of Fame star the same year.

In which state did Cole spend six months in a rehab facility in 1983?

She entered after the release of her Epic album I'm Ready.

Cole's 1987 comeback album Everlasting featured a dance-pop cover of which Bruce Springsteen song?

Producer Dennis Lambert suggested it; Cole thought she was "too old to be doing this kind of stuff".

Which fictional girl group covered Cole's Springsteen cover on a 1988 album?

The album was The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock.

What was the lead single from Everlasting, a No. 2 R&B hit?

The album returned her to platinum status for the first time in a decade.

Which 1989 single became Cole's biggest UK hit, reaching No. 2 there?

It was her fifth and last US top-ten hit, peaking at No. 7.

Which producer, known for Whitney Houston's early ballads, produced Cole's 1989 hit ballad?

Music Week praised his "dramatic and highly polished production".

What was the title of Cole's 1991 album of songs made famous by her father?

It went 7× platinum and won Album of the Year.

Cole was the first African-American woman to win which top Grammy, for her 1991 tribute to her father?

The title track also won Record of the Year.

How was the famous "Unforgettable" duet between Natalie and Nat King Cole created?

Elvis Presley's musical director Joe Guercio had the idea.

Which relative played piano on her 1991 collection of her father's standards?

Cole herself produced the vocal arrangements.

How many times platinum was the 1991 album of her father's songs certified by the RIAA?

Nielsen counted 6.2 million US copies by 2016.

On which label was the 1991 album released after Cole left EMI?

Her EMI-Manhattan and Elektra catalogues were later sold to Concord.

Where did the "Unforgettable" duet peak on the Billboard Hot 100?

It also hit No. 10 on the R&B chart and went gold.

Cole's 1996 album Stardust featured a second virtual duet with her father on which standard?

It earned her the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

How many Grammy Awards did Natalie Cole win in her lifetime?

She sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

Where did Cole earn her degree in child psychology in 1972?

She minored in German and briefly attended USC, where she pledged Delta Sigma Theta.

What was the name of the band Cole sang with in small clubs after graduating in 1972?

Clubs booked her as Nat's daughter, then were disappointed she sang R&B and rock covers.

How did Cole describe her famous family growing up in Hancock Park?

She sang on her father's 1960 Christmas album and started performing at 11.

Cole's paternal uncle Freddy Cole was known for what?

He recorded numerous albums and won awards of his own.

Nat King Cole died of what illness in February 1965, when Natalie was 15?

She was at an elite New England prep school at the time.

Cole's first husband Marvin Yancy had been a member of which 1970s R&B group?

He was also a pastor, and Cole became a Baptist in 1976.

Cole's second husband, Andre Fischer, had been the drummer for which band?

They were married from 1989 to 1995.

What was the title of Cole's 2000 autobiography?

It was released alongside an NBC biopic starring Theresa Randle.

Which actress played Cole in the 2000 TV biopic Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story?

Cole herself appeared and won an NAACP Image Award for it.

Cole was arrested in which city for heroin possession in 1975?

She said her drug use began at university in Amherst.

Cole announced in 2008 that she had which disease, which she linked to past intravenous drug use?

Treatment led to kidney failure and a 2009 transplant.

On which TV programme did Cole appeal for a kidney donor in 2009?

A donor family asked that their kidney go to Cole if it matched.

On what date did Natalie Cole die in 2015?

Her family said the cause was congestive heart failure linked to pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Where did Cole give her final performance, a short set of three songs?

She had cancelled several December 2015 events because of illness.

Where is Natalie Cole buried?

Her grave in the Court of Freedom section is closed to the public.

Cole hosted which 1990 TV talent competition with a $100,000 prize?

The same year she sang "Mr. President" with Al Jarreau on a Comic Relief special.

At the 1993 Oscars, Cole sang a medley of two nominated songs from which film?

"Run to You" and "I Have Nothing" had been sung by Whitney Houston.

Cole sang the national anthem at which Super Bowl?

She performed with the Atlanta University Center Chorus.

On which reality competition did Cole guest-judge a famous 'This Will Be' lip-sync in 2012?

DiDa Ritz's performance is regarded as one of the show's best.

What was the title of her 2013 Spanish-language album?

It earned her Latin Grammy recognition.

Cole's 1999 Christmas album The Magic of Christmas was recorded with which group of classical musicians?

It shared its title with her father's 1960 Christmas album, on which she had sung as a child.

Which label did Cole join for the 2002 jazz album Ask a Woman Who Knows?

Her 2006 album Leavin' on the same label included a cover of Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming".

Which honour did Cole receive from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999?

She was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2021.

Which honorary doctorate did Cole receive in 1995?

She had shunned jazz early in her career for fear of riding her father's coattails.

Cole played the lead in which TV movie?

She also appeared in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely.

Which singer invited Cole to join his 1983 BBC special A Tribute to Nat Cole?

An album of the same name was released.

Cole's biggest hit in the UK before Unforgettable came from which 1989 album?

It was her only top-ten album in the UK, where it went gold.

Natalie Cole's mother, Maria Hawkins, had been a singer with whose orchestra?

Natalie was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles and raised in the Hancock Park district.

Which elite New England prep academy did Natalie Cole attend before her father's death?

The school merged in 1971 to become Northfield Mount Hermon School.

Roughly how many records did Natalie Cole sell worldwide?

Alongside her nine Grammys, she was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Which 1993 standards album had a title track sung in the style her idol recorded decades before?

It followed the huge success of Unforgettable... with Love and continued her move into standards.

In which year did Natalie Cole receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

That same year she released I Love You So and her duet album with Peabo Bryson.