You know the song — that fiery, funky anthem that made you want to roll the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs. But what you might not know is that Pink Cadillac wasn’t just a hit — it was the ignition spark in one of music’s greatest comebacks.

In the mid-1980s, Natalie Cole’s career was running on fumes. After a promising start in the ’70s, her battle with drug addiction and a string of underperforming albums left her nearly written off by the industry. “I had, in a way, burned a lot of people,” she later reflected. “There was so much disappointment when I lost control that they were afraid to put the effort back in again.”

For years, music executives saw her as a fading star — but Natalie had something to prove.

By 1987, she was ready to reintroduce herself. That year, she released Everlasting, a bold, genre-blending album that marked a turning point. But it was one track in particular — a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Pink Cadillac — that truly changed everything.

The song roared onto the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at No. 5 and earning Cole a Grammy nomination. With its swagger, soul, and rock ‘n roll edge, Pink Cadillac was more than just a crowd-pleaser — it was Natalie Cole announcing she was back, and she meant business.

It also earned her a coveted spot on MTV, a rarity for female R&B artists at the time. The album went platinum, and Pink Cadillac became her biggest hit in nearly a decade — a song that rolled over the doubts and parked her firmly back in the spotlight.

Natalie’s comeback wasn’t just a return — it was a reinvention. And she did it in style — behind the wheel of a Pink Cadillac.

LISTEN: A look into Natalie Cole’s comeback