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!
