Happy Birthday Natalie Cole (February 6th)

In the realm of the female artists who first began recording in the 70s, few had the kind of impact that Natalie Cole did.   While her pedigree - as the daughter of the legendary Nat King Cole - certainly didn't hurt in gaining the immediate attention of the media and the public alike, Natalie quickly established herself as very much her own singer, more akin in style to Aretha Franklin rather than artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington who were her father's musical contemporaries.  Ironically, as her career has progressed, Natalie herself has developed more as an interpretative song stylist leaning more towards the classic work of Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and, of course, her own father as a source for material to record, distinct from her role as a purveyor of gospel-tinged emotive pop-flavored soul music that formed the basis for her 70s work for Capitol Records.