Remembering Natalie Cole, 1950-2015
On this week's podcast:
We pay tribute to the life and legacy of Natalie Cole, the nine-time Grammy winner and daughter of Nat “King” Cole, who died of congestive heart failure on New Year’s Eve at the age of 65.
Our tribute begins with a 2010 conversation conducted after she received a life-saving kidney transplant. Cole had long suffered from a number of health problems – she was diagnosed in 2008 with hepatitis C, which she attributed to her past intravenous drug use. Soon after starting treatment for that condition, she suffered kidney failure and needed dialysis three times a week before receiving the transplant in 2009.
The second half of our special brodcast is our final recorded conversation with Cole, from 2013, when she appeared in part to introduce what turned out to be her last studio album, "Natalie Cole en Español." The album, recorded after her recovery from her kidney transplant, was inspired by the bond forged with the Latino family of her donor and her father’s Spanish-language recordings.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, this is the best time to do it. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. All donations between now and June 30 will be matched 2:1. Will you help keep our newsroom on strong footing by giving to The World?