When you’re the child of a singing legend, a career in entertainment would be your obvious occupational direction, either by choice or default. Natalie Cole, the daughter of 50’s jazz/pop singer Nat King Cole, naturally followed said path. Quite the antithesis of her father’s clean cut all-American image, young Natalie was a rebel hell-bent on experimenting and having fun—maybe a little too much fun.

Like many celebrity off-spring, Cole got caught up in the world wind of sex, drugs and rock & roll. While her hits “This Will Be,” “Inseparable,” and “I’ve Got Love On My Mind” struck Billboard platinum and gold throughout the 70’s, Cole was harboring a serious addiction to heroin, which would prove to be a detriment to her career in the latter years.

Following a string of incidents that included an arrest for drug possession in 1975; Cole entered rehab in 1983, after her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family pool while she was on a drug binge. While most aren’t able to bounce back from such a dangerous lifestyle, Cole was able to kick her addiction and return to the thing she did best: Music.

Fast forward to 2012, and the 10 time Grammy Award winner has released a string of hit jazz albums, including 1991’s multi-platinum Unforgettable… with Love. And despite a bout with kidney disease—a result of a 2008 diagnosis of Hepatitis C—she still actively performs, even making a surprise appearance at the 2011 Soul Train Awards in honor of Gladys Knight.  —Justin Dwayne Joseph/Danielle Young.

Today, Feb. 2, 2012 marks the singer’s 62nd birthday, and in honor of her special day, Centric’s The Hot 10 has compiled a special birthday playlist.

TAGS: Centric, Gladys Knight, Grammy Awards, hepatitis c, Justin Dwayne Joseph, music playlist, Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Cole, Soul Train Awards 2011, The Hot 10