Less than two years since the world lost iconic singer, Natalie Cole, it’s been reported that her only son Robert Yancy has passed away.
As reported by TMZ, Robert Yancy’s body was found in his San Fernando Valley apartment when a friend who hadn’t heard from him in a few days checked up on him. Family members say Robert —the grandson of Nat King Cole— had never abused drugs and was “turning his life around.”
When his mother was touring, Yancy was on the road with her, playing percussion in the band. As the NY Daily News reports, 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.
Before losing his mother in 2015 from congestive heart failure, Yancy lost his father, Marvin Yancy in 1985 from a heart attack. There is no word on the exact cause of death, but an autopsy on Yancy is pending.