NATALIE COLE – THANKFUL (EXPANDED EDITION)

Natalie Cole was enjoying international success in 1977 when Capitol Records issued her fourth album, Thankful. Like its predecessors, the LP was produced by the Chicago team of Chuck Jackson & Marvin Yancy and contained a number of Natalie's own compositions including the US Top 10 R&B hit, `Annie Mae.' A US Top 20 pop and Top 5 R&B charted album, Thankful (long out of print on CD) was certified platinum and boasted the US million-selling R&B No. 1 and No. 15 pop single, "Our Love." This reissue is the second Cole album from SoulMusic.com Records following the February 2011 release of  Natalie Live. Key cuts on Thankful include the gospel-driven title track; the smooth `quiet storm'-flavoured Cole fan favourite, `La Costa' (co-written by Natalie and her then-musical director Linda Williams); the jazzy "Lovers" (another tune co-penned by Natalie); and the Cole composition, the heartfelt `Keeping A Light.' In addition to saxophonist and co-producer Gene Barge, Jackson & Yancy assembled an `A' list of musicians for the album including guitarists Lee Ritenour and Ray Parker Jr., drummers James Gadson and Paul Humphrey and keyboardist Sonny Burke.

 

Cole has earned nine Grammy awards. The daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, her debut album Inseparable (1975) earned a No. 1 single, This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), and two Grammy awards for Best New Artist, as well as Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.  Her 1991 album Unforgettable…With Love included a duet with her late father and earned six Grammy awards. Cole's latest album, Still Unforgettable, (2008) garnered two more Grammy awards.  Cole documented her life story in her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder (2000). In 2008 she was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C, and will meet with leading patient advocates in Washington, D.C., and discuss the Tune In to Hep C national public health initiative, sponsored by Merck and the American Liver Foundation, at a National Press Club Speakers Luncheon, Wednesday, October 19.  "There is a stigma around chronic hepatitis C because it's associated with IV drug use.  But it doesn't matter how you got the virus, it matters what you do about it," Natalie Cole said.  "That's why I've joined the Tune In to Hep C campaign to share my story and motivate people to take the next step by speaking to their doctor. Doing nothing is not an option." Ms. Cole, who realized she'd been living with the virus for more than 25 years after being diagnosed during a routine examination, will call to elevate the public discussion around chronic hepatitis C and encourage others to take action.  Hepatitis C is a liver disease often referred to as the "silent disease" because it can be in the body for decades without apparent symptoms.  An estimated 3.2 million Americans have hepatitis C though many are unaware they have it.