Tribute to Natalie Cole

It must be tough growing up under the weight of such a giant in not just music, but popular culture.  Nat King Cole was the genuine article, he could sing, he had a television show and not to mention he was a beast on the piano.  So much so that jazz musicians still study his style of jazz trio playing today.

Natalie Cole stepped out on her own under the weight of her father's accomplishments and carved out her own identity as an R&B, pop, and jazz vocalist.  What I saw from her was that she didn't try to distance herself from her father's musical legacy to create her own, rather she embraced her father's music and accomplishments and built on that legacy with her own acheivements.  This approach culminated in the album "Unforgettable...With Love" where she sang "duets" with her father on some of his more popular recordings.   

"Nataliecole2007" by dbking - IMG_1350. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 

via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Nataliecole2007.jpg#/media/File:Nataliecole2007.jpg

Natalie was the perennial "daddy's girl" and the image of her in her father's lap during a Christmas broadcast of the Nat King Cole Show, is the encapsulation of the love a daughter has for her father, and her life was a testament to that.