Jazzobit: Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole, who even in death never quite escaped being "the daughter of", has died.

I never understood why she didn't bill herself as Natalie Princess Cole. At least for a bit. You would, wouldn't you?

Her life had been pitted with ill-health and addictions, but she carried on performing through them all.

Natalie Cole died on New Years' Eve. She was 65.

Cole hospitalised

Natalie Cole has been hospitalised for over a week; her team report that medication for hepatitis C and a heavy promotional schedule have combined to leave her needing treatment.

Cole fumes at coke-head

Not that she's bitter or anything like that, but Natalie Cole is boiling mad that Amy Winehouse won some Grammys:

“I don’t think she deserved it,” previous Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole said. “I think she needs to get her life together first, and then get the awards later."

It's not clear if Cole has a fully-fledged guide to acceptable behaviour she'd like to see the Grammy Academy introduce for shortlisted artists, or if it's merely Cole doesn't want crack-smokers to be given an award. Or, perhaps, she only wants 'good behaviour' to be a voting factor in categories she might stand a chance of winning if she ever makes a decent record again.

Perhaps someone should take her aside and explain the Grammys are for performance (supposedly) and sales (more honestly), while it's up to the church and courts to deal with character and morality.