Seeing as this year’s Grammys was more or less the year of the tribute – with performances dedicated to Glenn Frey, BB King, Lemmy Kilmister, and David Bowie – it was somewhat of a noticeable shift when Natalie Cole was honored with a short video within the larger “In Memoriam” segment rather than a standalone segment of her own. Cole’s career, which spanned four decades in which she won nine Grammys and had 21 nominations, was cut short in December of 2015 when she died of congestive heart failure after many years of health issues. She was only 65.
Cole’s piece of the “In Memorium” clips package consisted of a video snippet from a 1992 Grammys performance in which she virtually shared the stage with her deceased father and performed “Unforgettable” with him. It was a sweet gesture, but the singer’s family is outraged over the minimization of her career to that brief clip. In a statement given to ET on Tuesday, her sisters spoke:
“Words cannot express the outrage and utter disappointment at the disrespectful tribute, or lack thereof, to a legendary artist such as our sister.”
Cole’s son added to the sentiment with great pride about his mother:
“Here is a woman who has been in the business for four decades, had 21 Grammy nominations and won nine Grammys. She deserves more than (to be a part of) a minute-and-a-half tribute. It was shameless the way they minimized her legacy. We will find solace in her legacy as well as her endless fans around the world.”
Her family has a legitimate point, for the show could have made space for a proper tribute to Cole if they wanted to. There were certainly enough talented people in the house that could participate if asked, even if some of them canceled last minute. It’s also worth noting how all of the artists who were given tributes were male, but Natalie is not, which is not exactly the best show of diversity that the Grammys could have attempted.
Natalie’s lack of a full-length tribute is unfortunate, not only because of how influential she was in the industry but for how amazing her songs are even when being performed by other artists. At the very least, it would have been a beautiful performance to watch, but fans will have to settle for enjoying her music via their normal methods in the absence of any other wrap-up of her career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fWOrBkkEL8
(via Variety)
