Musicians we lost during 2015

[Spiritinthesky]

As 2015 comes to an end, interesting page here of 25 of the great musicians we lost during the year. http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/..._who_died_2015

[FuzzyPlum]

...and I'd just like to add John Bradbury (drummer in the Specials), Demis Roussos and Val Doonican. RIP.

[Macfanforever]

How sad that we are loosing these legends like hotcakes.

Its so sad that we have nobody to fill their shoes.

I just found out that Natalie Cole just died.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...101-story.html

Natalie Cole has died at 65; 'Unforgettable' singer was daughter of legendary Nat King Cole
Natalie Cole | 1950-2015

Natalie Cole, daughter of jazz great Nat King Cole who carried on his legacy, has died.
Randy Lewis and Frank ShyongContact Reporters

Singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of music great Nat King Cole who became a recording star in her own right with hits that spanned three decades, has died, her publicist, Maureen O’Connor, said.

She was 65 years old.

Cole is perhaps best known for her 1991 multiple Grammy-winning album "Unforgettable: With Love," which became the biggest hit of her career — selling more than 6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Cole wowed audiences with a seamless duet with her late father's voice on the title tune, one of the elder Cole's signature numbers.

Other hits included "This Will Be," "Our Love" and a cover of "Pink Cadillac."

But for all of Cole's successes, her life was also marked by years of serious health problems.


Cole's move to singing was accidental. She was a pre-med student at the University of Massachusetts when a friend — who was singing with a local group — fell ill the night of a show and asked whether Cole would stand in for him. He had heard her sing informally at parties. She ended up taking his place in the group and setting aside a medical career.

Cole's name helped and hurt. It resulted in a lot of club bookings, but also led to embarrassing moments like the night one club marquee read, "Appearing tonight: The daughter of Nat King Cole."

Cole's ace in the hole was the fact she really could sing.
Natalie Cole talks about surviving addiction and the strain of her family name

The nine-time Grammy winner underwent a kidney transplant in May 2009 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and recently returned to singing. She had revealed in 2008 that she had been diagnosed with hepatitis C and her kidneys had failed after she went through treatment.

In a 2008 interview with The Times, she spoke about an illness that caused fluid-filled lungs and rapidly deteriorating kidneys.

"I didn't realize how close I was to checking out," Cole said.

At the time, she had been on the tail-end of treatment for hepatitis C. It was a consequence of her much-publicized drug use in the 1970s and '80s; for years, she was addicted to heroin before she successfully completed rehab in 1983.

Cole said at the time that the Interferon treatments made the recording process much more difficult, as some of the side effects — lack of appetite, diminished thirst — rendered her dehydrated and increasingly weak.

In 2009, Cole underwent a kidney transplant procedure that her doctors

Singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of music great Nat King Cole who became a recording star in her own right with hits that spanned three decades, has died, her publicist, Maureen O’Connor, said.

She was 65 years old.

Cole is perhaps best known for her 1991 multiple Grammy-winning album "Unforgettable: With Love," which became the biggest hit of her career — selling more than 6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Cole wowed audiences with a seamless duet with her late father's voice on the title tune, one of the elder Cole's signature numbers.

Other hits included "This Will Be," "Our Love" and a cover of "Pink Cadillac."

But for all of Cole's successes, her life was also marked by years of serious health problems.


Cole's move to singing was accidental. She was a pre-med student at the University of Massachusetts when a friend — who was singing with a local group — fell ill the night of a show and asked whether Cole would stand in for him. He had heard her sing informally at parties. She ended up taking his place in the group and setting aside a medical career.

Cole's name helped and hurt. It resulted in a lot of club bookings, but also led to embarrassing moments like the night one club marquee read, "Appearing tonight: The daughter of Nat King Cole."

Cole's ace in the hole was the fact she really could sing.

The nine-time Grammy winner underwent a kidney transplant in May 2009 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and recently returned to singing. She had revealed in 2008 that she had been diagnosed with hepatitis C and her kidneys had failed after she went through treatment.

In a 2008 interview with The Times, she spoke about an illness that caused fluid-filled lungs and rapidly deteriorating kidneys.

"I didn't realize how close I was to checking out," Cole said.

At the time, she had been on the tail-end of treatment for hepatitis C. It was a consequence of her much-publicized drug use in the 1970s and '80s; for years, she was addicted to heroin before she successfully completed rehab in 1983.

Cole said at the time that the Interferon treatments made the recording process much more difficult, as some of the side effects — lack of appetite, diminished thirst — rendered her dehydrated and increasingly weak.

In 2009, Cole underwent a kidney transplant procedure that her doctors said at the time was successful.

She reflected on her health problems in an interview with People magazine around that time.
“I’m committed to working. I’m a fighter, not a chump,” she said. “The timing is intense. The album is special to me, and here I am sick. But you know the saying: These are the best of times and the worst of times. So we’ll barrel through.” The illnesses didn't stop Cole's career. In 2013, her debut Spanish-language album, "En Español," was nominated for a Latin Grammy award for album of the year. O'Connor said a specific cause of death wasn’t known but noted Cole's medical history, adding she never fully recovered from the kidney transplant.

Robert Hilburn contributed to this report

[olive]

sad about Natalie Cole