Robert Yancy, son of Natalie Cole, dead at 39!😢
Robert Yancy, the son of the late R&B singer Natalie Cole, has died of an apparent heart attack, TMZ reports. He was 39.
Yancy's body was reportedly found in his San Fernando Valley apartment by a friend who stopped by to check on him after not hearing from him for several days.
Family members told the gossip site that authorities contacted them early Tuesday morning to report that Yancy had died of a heart attack.
An autopsy is still pending, though his death is currently being attributed to natural causes.
Yancy's mother, the legendary Natalie Cole, died in 2015 of congestive heart failure after a years-long substance abuse battle.
Still, his family members insist that drugs were not involved in his passing, as he was clean and working on "turning his life around."
Yancy reportedly worked in the music industry, and had previously gone on tour with his mother, where he played percussion in her band. He is also credited as playing saxophone on the 1997 SWV album "A Special Christmas," and percussion on his mother's 1993 album "Take a Look."
Anita Anderson, a former back-up vocalist for Cole, expressed her sadness at the death of her former colleague's son on Twitter.
"We have lost another great young soul too soon!!!" she wrote. "Robert Adam Yancy, Natalie Cole's only surviving son and accomplished drummer has died!! Rest in peace as you journey home with mom and dad! And know you're always in our hearts son!! Love you and miss you already!!!"
Yancy was born to Cole and her first husband, Marvin Yancy, a former member of the R&B group The Independents whom she wed in 1976. Cole and Yancy divorced in 1980, and he died of a heart attack at 34 in 1985.
Yancy spoke up in defense of his mother a year after her death, when he slammed her Grammys tribute as “unacceptable.” Cole, who was the first African-American to win the "Best New Artist" award, did not receive a tribute or verbal mention. Her only acknowledgement was a photo in an "In Memoriam" montage.
“She deserves more than that because she has done so much,” he said at the time. “To have my mother treated with the disdain and disrespect that she was treated with last night, it's just unacceptable. It was not right.”
Cole’s father was legendary jazz musician Nat King Cole. He died of lung cancer in 1965.
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