1980 Natalie Cole – Someone That I Used To Love
Natalie Cole was the daughter of Nat King Cole. She began recording for Capitol Records in the mid-seventies and immediately had a string of albums that did well on the pop charts and often topped the R&B charts.
Her last charting single in 1977 (Our Love) did well on both charts, but became her last single to chart on the Hot 100 for almost three years.
Songwriter Michael Masser had his first major hit in 1973 when he co-wrote Touch Me in the Morning, a chart-topping solo single for Diana Ross. He and Gerry Goffin co-wrote Someone That I Used To Love and convinced Bette Midler to record the song for her 1977 album. Michael produced the recording and was convinced it would be a hit. Bette and her manager felt her album already had enough slow ballads and finally convinced Atlantic Records to leave the song off her album.
In 1980, Michael got a second chance with the song. He produced a version for Natalie that Capitol Records released as a single. The record became a hit, reaching #21 on both the Hot 100 and the R&B chart. It also reached #3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.
It turns out that Michael really, really wanted a bigger hit from the song. In 1989, he produced a version for Barbra Streisand. Columbia Records put the song out as airplay only and it reached #25 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Natalie began fighting drug addiction, and her career suffered. She eventually beat the addiction after a six-month stay in a rehab facility.
It would be 1987 before she reached the top forty on the Hot 100 again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Cole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Cole_discography#Singles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Someone_That_I_Used_to_Love
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