Grammy Award Winner Natalie Cole Was Initiated into Delta Sigma Theta at USC

Did you know that the legendary singer behind “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” and “Unforgettable” was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.? Her name was Natalie Cole, and she built a career that carried her family’s musical legacy into a new generation.

Natalie Maria Cole was born on February 6, 1950, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of the legendary singer Nat King Cole and the singer Maria Cole. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she majored in child psychology and graduated in 1972, and she also spent time at the University of Southern California. It was during her college years at USC that she became a soror of the Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Cole stepped out of her father’s shadow and made a name of her own. Her 1975 debut album, Inseparable, introduced the world to her powerful voice and produced the smash hit “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).” That year she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, announcing herself as one of the most exciting new voices in music.

After navigating personal struggles in the 1980s, Cole staged one of the great comebacks in music history. In 1991, she released Unforgettable… with Love, an album of songs made famous by her father. Its centerpiece was a technological marvel, a virtual duet of “Unforgettable” that paired her voice with her late father’s original recording. The album became a massive success and swept the Grammy Awards, winning Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Over her career, Cole won nine Grammy Awards and sold millions of records around the world, earning her place among the great vocalists of her era.

Natalie Cole died on December 31, 2015, in Los Angeles. From the daughter of a legend to a legend in her own right, Delta Sigma Theta’s Natalie Cole left behind a voice that will truly be unforgettable.

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