SADNESS: Robert Yancy, Son of The Late Natalie Cole, dead at 39 😢

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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.

YOUR NIGHTCAP TEA: Natalie Cole READS Patti LaBelle FOR FILTH?

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OOOPS: Natalie Cole READS Patti LaBelle FOR FILTH?

Last month news leaked that the Broadway production of After Midnight would be closing before Natalie Cole and Gladys Knight took their turns in the revolving cast.

Adding to the drama spy witnesses claim Natalie Cole has been trashing current star Patti LaBelle's performance behind her back…

According to Dish Nation,

“Natalie was overheard telling friends that Fantasia really made the show work, but Patti was just not up to par,” the source told Dish Nation. “People were saying that Patti would get tired in middle of her set and would just mouth the words instead of singing them. Natalie didn’t hold back — she went on to say that Patti had lost her touch — saying she was too old and too tired to make the performance work.”

Cole, a 9-time Grammy winner, reportedly saw and loved the show when Barrino starred in it. The “Unforgettable” singer was actually scheduled to take over the role in August before it was announced that the musical would close on June 29 due to poor ticket sales.

According to the source, other celebrities in attendance backstage were all in agreement that LaBelle didn’t give it her all, but none as vocal at Natalie.

“Natalie loves Patti’s voice, but she didn’t think she was right for this,” adds the source.

Natalie Cole READ JHud & Candice Glover over the duet of her song!

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Natalie Cole lashes out at Candice-JHud song choice: ‘American Idol ought to be ashamed!’

After stellar performances all season, Candice Glover took home the title of American Idol during Thursday night’s live taping.

But before she was crowned with the honor, the 23-year-old singer took to the stage and sang the 1975 hit “Inseparable” — and she didn’t sing it alone.

Former Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson joined Glover in rounding out the two-hour finale and they rocked the stage while performing an unforgettable duet.

The Idol stars were greeted with a roaring applause and a standing ovation from audience members and judges, and their song soon rocketed across social media and the Internet. Personally for me (Efrem) JHud’s Vibrato was killing me softly!

However, singer and performer Natalie Cole wasn’t too pleased with their song choice.

Cole sang the original version on her hit debut album, also titled Inseparable; a fact she made sure to publicly clarify via Twitter.

Make no mistake…"Inseparable" was NOT originally recorded by Jennifer Hudson, but by ME…. American Idol… fb.me/243VjYiIU—

Natalie Cole (@NatMCole) May 17, 2013

Cole also addressed a tweet to Idol’s account saying: “@AmericanIdol ought to be ashamed of themselves! I’m seriously offended! #Idol #Idolfinale.” She later deleted the tweet.

Despite Cole’s disdain, some of her followers disagreed.

“Get real, and let someone else have their moment. If u recorded it first so be it – but u don’t need to rain on a parade,” one follower said in response.

Through it all, Glover was more than ecstatic from the results and was brought to tears after her win was announced.

“I’m still trying to process the whole thing,” Glover told reporters after the show.

“Like, I don’t even know my name. I don’t know what’s happening,” she adds. “It feels amazing, though. I finally got to this point. I’ve been working for so long.”

WOW...Thoughts?

In Memoriam: Maria Cole, Mother Of Natalie Cole Dies @ 89!

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In Memoriam Maria Cole, Mother Of Natalie Cole Dies

M aria Cole, the mother of Natalie Cole, the widow of singing legend Nat “King” Cole, and in her own right a Big Band singer, died Tuesday in Boca Raton, Florida, after a brief battle with cancer, her family announced. She was 89. “Our mom was in a class all by herself,” her three children said in a statement Thursday. “She epitomized, class, elegance, and truly defined what it is to be a real lady. We are so blessed and privileged to have inherited the legacy that she leaves behind along with our father. She died how she lived — with great strength, courage and dignity, surrounded by her loving family.” 

Born Maria Hawkins in Boston in 1922, Maria and a sister moved to North Carolina to live with an aunt soon after her mother died in childbirth. She took voice and piano lessons as a child, and after graduating in 1938 from the Palmer Memorial Institute — then one of America’s most prestigious African-American prep schools — she returned to Boston and sang with a jazz orchestra. She soon moved to New York to pursue a music career with jazz great Benny Carter’s band.
In 1943, she married Spurgeon Ellington, a Tuskegee Airmen flyer during World War II. He was killed in Georgia two years later during a routine postwar training flight. 
After performing briefly with Count Basie and swing music innovator Fletcher Henderson, Cole’s big break came when Duke Ellington hired her as a vocalist. She stayed with him until 1946, when she began soloing at New York’s Club Zanzibar as an opening act for The Mills Brothers.

It was there that she met Nat, and they were married on Easter Sunday in 1948 in a lavish ceremony in Harlem. It was only six days after Nat’s divorce from his first wife became final. The two were married for almost 17 years, until the soft-spoken singer died of lung cancer in Santa Monica in February 1965.
After her husband’s death, Maria produced a James Baldwin play, sang on The Ed Sullivan Show, created the Cole Cancer Foundation and was active in charity work.

The Coles conceived — Natalie, a nine-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter. She was born in 1950 as the Coles’ first child. She was followed by Nat Kelly Cole, adopted in 1959 (death in1995), and the twins Timolin and Casey, who were born in 1961. In 1949, the couple had adopted Carol (known as “Cookie”), the daughter of Maria’s late sister. Cookie passed away in 2009.
In addition to her three daughters, survivors include her sister, Charlotte; her son-in-laws Gary and Julian; and six grandchildren. A private service will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles at a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Nat King Cole Generation Hope Inc. in Boca Raton.