By Steve Rhodes
“Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole, who died Thursday at the age of 65, was no stranger to Chicago audiences, having performed here at numerous concert venues over the years, most recently a concert last February in Naperville,” the Sun-Times notes.
“In 2011, Ms. Cole headlined a free concert at Taste of Chicago, and 2013 she performed a double-bill with Ramsey Lewis at Ravinia.”
Cole’s most noteworthy Chicago appearance, though, was arguably her May 1997 two-night stand at the Arie Crown Theatre, which was also broadcast the following month on the legendary King Biscuit Flower Hour.
“She came on like an amiable dynamo on the fast numbers and suitably sentimental on the slow ones,” the Tribune’s Lynn Van Matre wrote at the time.
The Trib’s Aaron Gold wrote that “The Arie Crown security staff wasn’t prepared for the adoring Natalie Cole fans who rushed the stage at her Friday concert.”
Here’s “I’m Catching Hell” from that show:
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And here’s the same song at Taste of Chicago in 2011:
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See also: Natalie Cole at that Ravinia show in 2013 with Ramsey Lewis:
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Comments welcome.
Posted on January 5, 2016