Natalie Cole - has one of the loveliest voices of ladies which only makes sense with her father being the great Nat King Cole. I have for years adored Natalie Cole as a singer and performer. Natalie is one lady that opposed to many of her contemporary's has kept her vocals in tact and sounds truly timeless. A stable for my Christmas music enjoyment is always Natalie Cole and her wide array of holiday songs and albums. My personal favorite is her 1994 holiday album entitled; "Holly & Ivy."
"Holly & Ivy" is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary and is one of my all time favorite albums since buying it in 1994 to this day. Natalie brings her always classy, soul, passion into each of the tracks of this particular holiday album. It is set with her lush big band sounds and powerful vocals and emotions that one can tell this is not a phoned in album rather a classic that stays true to the songs and makes the listener go on the journey both jubilant and sentimental. This is one classic lady and album that I always listen to annually come the holiday season from start to finish. My favorites have to be;
"Joy To The World" "Jingle Bells" "No More Blue Christmas" "Silent Night" "The Christmas Song" & "The Holly & The Ivy."
In 1993, David Foster released another of my staples now since it first was released as a go-to for the holiday season where he featured Natalie performing; "Grown Up Christmas List" & "White Christmas" (the later being recorded with other greats also featured on the album such as; Michael Crawford, Johnny Mathis, Wynonna Judd, Vanessa Williams, BeBe & CeCe Winans).
In 1999, Natalie Cole released another holiday album and this time with the London Symphony Orchestra where she did lovely recordings of; "O Tanenbaum" "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" "Sleigh Ride""Carol of the Bells" and one of my favorites of the album; "Mary, Did You Know."
Natalie also recorded a live holiday album in December 1995 entitled; "A Celebration of Christmas." The powerful powerhouses of opera joined her this time being both Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. All tracks on this album were sung by all three of the artists and were simply a glorious collaboration.
Now when you are looking for a classic album and singer for the holiday season look no further to one of my all time favorites and go-to ladies Natalie Cole!
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