This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)

“This Will Be” is a song written by Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, arranged by Richard Evans and performed by American singer Natalie Cole. Often appended with “(An Everlasting Love)” but not released as such, this was Cole’s debut single, released in April 1975 and one of her biggest hits, becoming a number-one R&B and number-six pop smash in the United States, also reaching the UK Top 40. Cole won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, a category that had previously been dominated by Aretha Franklin. It would also help her win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Cole had been turned down by every label she approached, but finally gained the interest of Larkin Arnold, who at the time was the executive of Capitol Records, through demos produced by Jackson and Yancy. The two wrote the song at the end of sessions for Arnold, just as he and Cole were about to leave town.