Most of us Old Schoolers remember C+C Music Factory’s ’90s classics, “Gonna Make You Sweat” and “Things That Make You Go Hmmm.” But if you’re like some of here at ILOSM, you may not have known that the Grammy award winning, multiplatinum selling group lost one of it’s founding members, David Cole, at a very young age.

On January 24, 1995, just one year after C+C+Music Factory released their sophomore album, Anything Goes!, David Cole passed away from spinal meningitis. The thing that shocked folks even more is that his spinal condition was listed as a complication from the AIDS virus, which David had quietly been battling for a while, according to several media reports.
He was just 32 years old at the time of his death and as far as we know, he didn’t have any children and wasn’t married, but he was survived by his mother, grandmother, and three sisters- all of whom are from Passaic, NJ.

David Cole, along with his C+C Music Factory co-founder, Robert Clivillés, produced several hits and remixes for music legends like Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, and others. David also won a Grammy for his work on The Bodyguard soundtrack, starring the late Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.

MARIAH CAREY RELEASED “ONE SWEET DAY” WITH BOYZ II MEN IN MEMORY OF DAVID COLE

David Cole- one of the underrated musical gems of the ’90s R&B/hip hop/pop eras. Although he had to leave this earth so soon, his musical legacy will continue to live on. Rest easy David Cole.

The post C+C Music Factory Singer Died So Young…Friend, Mariah Carey, Made Hit Song In His Honor appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The late, Natalie Cole, gave us an honest look at her Mother’s perception of dark skinned people, including her dad, Nat King Cole. After reading more about Natalie’s skin complexion issues within her own family, we respect the body of work that Natalie Cole has graced us with…through it all, she did it with class!

Natalie said her mother, Maria Cole and her family’s ways isolated her from other Blacks during childhood. Natalie recalled growing up in Los Angeles’ exclusive Hancock Park section, where the Coles were the only Black residents.

Natalie on her Mother’s reaction to her playing with other African American children growing up:
[pull_quote_center]“When I got friendly with the Black people who worked for us, MY MOTHER was appalled. She wanted us to interact with a different society-outside the house.”[/pull_quote_center]

Before we go any deeper into this story, we think it’s important to point out that this is not something that Natalie’s Mother and her family, should SOLELY be judged for, because although they are at fault, we all know this is a much more deep rooted issue within the African American culture that goes WAY beyond them. Mrs. Cole and her fam’ were simply just products of that deep rooted issue. So while it’s easy to say “they are wrong for that” and walk away, we have a much bigger battle to fight to overcome the this universal ‘complexion disease.’ This dark skin/ light skin tension is a socio-psychological sickness, not simply just a choice, and many of us have been inflicted by it in various ways, ever since it was embedded within our psyche’s dating back to slavery.

We applaud Natalie for her willingness to openly shed some light on this topic through her own personal experience with it.

Flip the page to see what else Natalie said about this.

The post Natalie Cole Explains Her Mother’s Complex Against Dark Skin appeared first on I Love Old School Music.