274 Hello Natalie Cole - This Will Be

Chart  entered  : 11  October  1975

Chart  peak : 32

Number  of  hits : 12

This  was  a  real  outlier  hit  ; Natalie  wouldn't  return  to  the  charts  until  1987.

Natalie  of  course  is  the  daughter  of  Nat  King  Cole. She  was  born  in  1950  and  under  her father's  guidance, made  her  first  single  when  she  was  just  6, a  Christmas  novelty  record called "Good  Will"  which  - probably  mercifully - I  haven't  heard. Despite  this  early  beginning  Nat didn't   push  her  into  a  recording  career  and  after  his  death  when  she  was  15  she  went  to   prep  school  and  university. Her  autobiography  says  her  recreational  drug  use  began  as  an  undergraduate.

After  graduating  in  Child  Psychology  Natalie  got  a  band  together  called  Black  Magic  who played  R & B  and  rock ,  sometimes  dismaying  club  owners  who  expected  her  to  follow  in   her  father's  footsteps  and  do  jazz  ballads. She  attracted  the  attention  of   producers  Chuck Jackson  and  Marvin  Yancy  who  invited  her  to  demo  some  songs  they  had  written  together. Eventually  they  were  signed  up  by  Capitol.

Released  in  April  1975  "This  Will  Be"  was  their  first  single  together. It's  a  loud  and  brassy declaration  of   love  that's  firmly  R &  B  rather  than  disco  and  gets  more  shouty  and  raucous as  it  progresses  in  direct  contrast  to  the  smooth  Philly  soul   of  the  time. It  also  sounds  very  like  Aretha  Franklin  and  when  the  song  won  Natalie  a  Grammy  for  Best  Female  R & B  Vocal  Performance  breaking  Franklin's  eight  year  hold  on the  award, the  latter  pointed  out  that  most  of  the  songs  Natalie   recorded  for  Jackson  and  Yancy  had  originally  been  pitched  to  her  and  rejected, a  grumble  that  doesn't  say  much  for  either  her  generosity  or  her  judgement. The  song  got  to  number  6  in  the  U. S.  and  Natalie  also  won  a  Grammy  for  Best  New  Artist . By  the  time  this  was  a  hit  in  the  UK  Natalie  had  already  been  busted  for  possession  of  heroin  in  Canada   and  her  drug  habit  partly  explains  why  it  took  so  long  for  us  to  see  her  again.