Four years after her return to recording after a much-publicized battle with drug addiction, Natalie Cole found herself unexpectedly experiencing a virtual reinvention as a bestselling artist and performer, thanks to a project she had longed to do for many years. Unforgettable with Love was the soulful singer's way of paying tribute to her late, legendary father, Nat "King" Cole, and marked her label debut for Elektra Records. Cole, Elektra, and the album's producers--including then-husband Andre Fischer and Tommy LiPuma--were rewarded with a multiple-Grammy-winning set that sold an astonishing 5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Cole's selections varied from obvious choices like "Mona Lisa," "Nature Boy," "Route 66," and "Straighten Up and Fly Right"--all major hits for her father in the '50s--to more obscure parts of King Cole's repertoire, such as "Avalon" and "Non Dimenticar." The crowning glory was a "duet" with her father, electronically created using his original vocal, which helped expand Cole's audience dramatically and took her career to a new plateau. --David Nathan |
