Cole was exposed to the greats of jazz, soul and blues at an early age and began performing at the age of 11. Her debut album in 1975, Inseparable, won her immediate praise, with the smash single This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (#1 R&B, #6 Pop) winning her a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, a category that had been monopolized by Aretha Franklin, since its inception in 1967. She also was named the Grammys' Best New Artist of 1975. She attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, MA.
More hits followed through 1980, including her biggest Pop hit, 1977's I've Got Love On My Mind, as well as Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady) (1976), Our Love (1978), and Someone That I Used To Love (1980). "I've Got Love On My Mind" and "Our Love" both earned certifications as Gold singles. But then her career hit a snag in the early 1980s due to a severe drug problem. By 1985, Natalie was clean, sober, and in fine voice, and ready to begin her comeback in earnest with the album Dangerous, released on the Modern label.
In 1987, she released Everlasting (on EMI Manhattan) which sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and won Cole a Soul Train Award for Female Single of the Year for the #1 R&B ballad I Live for Your Love. This album was the one that put Natalie Cole firmly back in the spotlight, yielding three major hit singles: Jump Start, "I Live For Your Love" (#2 AC and #13 Pop as well as #1 R&B), and a successful remake of Bruce Springsteen's Pink Cadillac (#5 Pop, #16 AC, and #1 Dance). The album also included a taste of things to come in her career with a remake of one of her father's signature hits, "When I Fall In Love," which did moderately well on the AC chart. In 1989, the aptly-titled Good To Be Back gave her another across-the-board smash with "Miss You Like Crazy" (#1 both R&B and AC, and #7 Pop).
However, it was her 1991 album, Unforgettable... with Love, featuring her own arrangements of her father's greatest hits, that gave her the most success. Ironically, when Natalie began her career, she was determined not to capitalize on her father's name and wanted to forge her own identity by going after the soul market in earnest. For many years, she also found the prospect of recording her late father's songs too painful on a personal level. But Unforgettable... With Love certainly paid off. The set sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone, and won Cole several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. The album featured a duet, the title track, with her father, created by splicing a recording of his vocals into the track. As a single, it reached #14 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart, and went gold. The one sour spot in the album's success was that it strained Natalie's already-tumultuous relationship with her mother, Maria, who said in interviews at the time that she couldn't listen to the album or attend any of her daughter's concerts because she felt that the music really belonged to her late husband.
Natalie has released several more albums of pop standards in the years since; as a result of appealing to the "adult standards" audience, she has made only occasional forays onto the pop singles charts in that time (for example, "A Smile Like Yours," #8 AC and #84 Pop in 1997), although her albums still sell well. Her 1999 album Snowfall On The Sahara marked a return to the easy adult-contemporary soul that categorized her late-1980s hits, but for 2002's critically-praised Ask A Woman Who Knows, she turned more to the jazz side of the spectrum, covering songs made famous by Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, and Sarah Vaughan.
Battle With Drugs
In 2000, Cole released an autobiography, Angel on my Shoulder, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life. In the book, Cole admitted to using LSD, heroin and crack cocaine. Cole said she began experimenting with drugs while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and was arrested in Toronto, Canada for possession of heroin in 1975. Cole continued to spiral out of control - including an incident in which her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she and her first husband, the late Reverend Marvin Yancy were on a drug binge - until she entered rehab in 1983.
In concert with the release of the book, her autobiography was turned into a made-for-TV movie, The Natalie Cole Story, which aired December 10, 2000 on NBC.
Natalie has been married three times and has a son Robert Yancy (by Marvin Yancy), born in 1977. She later married former Rufus drummer Andre Fischer, who co-produced the Grammy Award-winning Unforgettable... With Love, Natalie's love offering featuring songs made famous by her father, including a faux-duet between her and her father.
The marriage to Fischer ended in divorce a few years later, amidst rumors of domestic verbal and physical abuse.
It has also been reported that Natalie has recovered from a life-threatening hepatitis illness (most likely the cause of her years of drug abuse) by having a liver transplant.
Miss Cole went on to release more albums after Unforgettable...With Love, with most of them featuring jazz-oriented standard songs or pop-song remakes. None of the albums were nearly as successful as Unforgettable...With Love.
As of 2013, Natalie Cole spent most of her professional time covering the concert circuit entertaining audiences around the world with her hits.
On December 31, 2015, Natalie Cole died from congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was aged 65.
This Morning It Was Summer
Natalie Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I remember long ago
A skylark on my shoulder told me so
This morning we were lovers
We were happy and we were gay
But now love you are somewhere far away
You left me in the sunshine
I tried so just to find you
But all my searching was in vain
This evening it is winter
Yet my heart sounds this alarm
This morning it was summer in your arms
Yes I tried so hard to find you
But all my searching was in vain
This evening it is winter
Yet my heart sounds this alarm
This morning it was summer in your arms
Summer in, summer in your arms
In Natalie Cole's song "This Morning It Was Summer," the lyrics depict a poignant tale of lost love and nostalgia. The singer reminisces about a time when the relationship was filled with happiness and warmth, symbolized by the reference to summer. The skylark on her shoulder serves as a metaphorical companion, representing the joyful presence and affirmation of their love. However, as the song progresses, it becomes evident that their love has dissipated, and the person she once cherished is now distant.
The opening lines set the nostalgic tone, with the mention of a past summer that evokes feelings of freedom, joy, and vitality. The skylark functions as a messenger, conveying the message that their love was genuine and hopeful. However, as time passes, the singer reveals that love has vanished. The shift from sunshine to rain symbolizes the emotional turmoil and sadness experienced due to the loss of love. Despite her relentless efforts to find her lover, they remain elusive, leaving her in a state of despair.
As the song progresses, the mood shifts from reminiscing on love's past bliss to the reality of the present. The transition from summer to winter reflects the emotional coldness and emptiness that have replaced the warmth and happiness they once shared. Yet, the singer's heart still yearns for the love that once existed, highlighted by the repeated mention of the summer in her lover's arms. The contrasting imagery of summer in the past and winter in the present emphasizes the contrast between the thriving love they once had and the desolate state of their current relationship.
Overall, "This Morning It Was Summer" delves into the bittersweet longing for a love that has faded away. It explores the feelings of loss, nostalgia, and the challenge of letting go, painting a vivid picture of the emotional journey experienced when a relationship comes to an end.
Line by Line Meaning
This morning it was summer
Today, I felt a sense of warmth, joy, and new beginnings
I remember long ago
I recall a distant memory from the past
A skylark on my shoulder told me so
A melody of hope and happiness whispered to me, filling my heart with optimism
This morning we were lovers
We shared a deep and passionate connection earlier today
We were happy and we were gay
We experienced pure joy and happiness together
But now love you are somewhere far away
However, now my love, you are distant and unreachable
You left me in the sunshine
You abandoned me in a state of blissful happiness
Now there is rain
Now I am surrounded by sorrow and tears
I tried so just to find you
I made tremendous efforts to locate you
But all my searching was in vain
Unfortunately, all my attempts to find you ended in disappointment
This evening it is winter
Tonight, my world feels cold, lonely, and desolate
Yet my heart sounds this alarm
Nevertheless, my heart echoes a warning, signaling the absence of love and warmth
This morning it was summer in your arms
In your loving embrace, I experienced a season of bliss and contentment
Yes I tried so hard to find you
Yes, I exerted great efforts to search for you
But all my searching was in vain
However, all my attempts to locate you were fruitless
This evening it is winter
Now, as the day progresses, a feeling of emptiness and coldness prevails
Yet my heart sounds this alarm
Still, deep within me, a sense of worry and distress persists
This morning it was summer in your arms
In the embrace of your love, I was immersed in the warmth and happiness of summer
Summer in, summer in your arms
The essence of summer was encapsulated within the loving shelter of your embrace
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB HAYMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind