 The daughter of Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Cole was born in 1950 and naturally grew up around music, aspiring to become a singer herself. After performing a bit in college, Cole hooked up with songwriters Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy in the early '70s and began recording with Capitol Records in 1975 with Inseparable, a soul/R&B album which spawned the No. 1 singles "This Will Be" and "Inseparable." Over the next five years, Cole released a string of hits including "Mr. Melody," "Be Mine Tonight," "I've Got Love On My Mind," "Happy Love" and "Don't Look Back," shifting from Quiet Storm R&B to jazz-influenced pop. Moving to Epic in 1983, Cole released her last album with contributions from Jackson and Yancy, then switched to Elektra records for the more pop-oriented Everlasting. After overcoming long-standing personal problems, Cole reemerged triumphant in 1989 with Good to Be Back, which contained the hit singles "Miss You Like Crazy" and "Gonna Make You Mine." In 1991 Cole surprised audiences with Unforgettable, an album of jazz-pop tunes originally recorded by her father, including a controversial "duet" with her dad created by overdubbing his vocals onto her cover of "Unforgettable." The record went on to sell over five million copies, establishing the retro style that she expanded on 1993's Take a Look and 1996's Stardust, both compilations of pre-rock 'n' roll era pop classics.
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