His show only lasted for one season, but in one year Cole had filmed some 53 episodes, per IMDb,paving the way for other Black television hosts. Album of the Year (Other Than Classical) For "The Nat "King" Cole Story" 1961 Nominee Grammy: Album of the Year. Nat King Cole: Encore. After 14 frustrating months, Cole called it quits, crisply telling a newspaper columnist that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. . (As Cole himself said when asked to compare himself to Sinatra, the band swings Frank. Volume 4 is also issued in a box set of three 45-rpm records. The invasion of the stage was quickly contained by local law enforcement but in the ensuing mele Cole was toppled from his piano bench and injured his back. This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles. . "Justin and I did the classic record 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.' This record is . This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles. This vintage song carries the timeless message to keep your chin up when life looks bleak. Now they became the focus of his second career, and he soon became one of the preeminent pop singers of his generation, Frank Sinatras only male peer. Nat learned to play the organ from his mother until the age of 12, when he began formal lessons. Born Nathaniel Adams Coles on March 17, 1919 (although 1916 and 1917 have also been cited), in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole was born into a family with a . Cole retorted "Neither do I. But no national sponsor would advertise on a show hosted by a black manit is no coincidence that Cole was attacked on stage in Birmingham in the same year that The Nat King Cole Show was launchedand the series was further limited by the fact that Cole, though he was a genial host, could not act, meaning that he was incapable of appearing in the comedy sketches that were staples of most other TV variety series of the period. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919. According to police, a plan had been developed four days earlier for a group of 150 white men to attack Cole. The album was so popular in Latin America as well as in the United States that two others in the same vein followed: A Mis Amigos (sung in Spanish and Their life there was riddled with threats and harassment, including someone sticking a sign in their yard that said "N*****Heaven," a shot being fired into their home, firecrackers being placed in rose bushes, and their dog being poisoned. In 1956, Nat King Cole became star and host of his own network television variety show on NBC-TV on which such guests as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Mel Torme were spotlighted. Cole was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, and in 1997 was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. . Not much is publicly known about this first marriage, which came to an end about 11 years later in 1948. There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. In 1937, after touring with a Black musical revue, he began playing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles. Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II. [Part 1]", "Pop Chronicles Interviews #131 - Nat "King" Cole", "Study: Ad Agencies Exhibit 'Pervasive Racial Discrimination' | News", "17 Of The Most Influential Freemasons Ever", "Gale:Free Resources:Black History:Biographies: Nat King Cole", "L.A.'s Ugly Jim Crow History: Nat King Cole's Dog Poisoned in Hancock Park", "Nat 'King' Cole attacked on stage archive, 12 April 1956", "It's All Right to Still Like Ike: History: Once Painted as a 'Distanced' President, Dwight Eisenhower Now is Heralded for his Strong Sense of Service", "Nat King Cole | Songwriters Hall of Fame", "Special Awards Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame", Nat "King" Cole article in the Encyclopedia of Alabama, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio, You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs), The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You), Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea, Caroling, Caroling: Christmas with Natalie Cole, Unforgettable A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole, Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nat_King_Cole&oldid=1139844406, 20th-century African-American male singers, African-American television personalities, Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Racially motivated violence against African Americans, Spanish-language singers of the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. As a result, he presented only singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, never comedians, and the shows lack of range, combined with the absence of national sponsorship, kept it from making money. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain.". Coles jazz roots never quite disappeared, especially when he recorded up-tempo tunes such as Almost Like Being in Love (1953) with arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Billy May, sailing effortlessly atop the beat with the irresistible swing of the nonpareil instrumentalist he had been. Cole, who was greatly disappointed, made the difficult decision to pull the plug on the program. A multi-talented musician who played piano, bass, and tuba, Eddie would sneak out in the night to perform at various gigs around town, and it wasn't too long before young Nat started following him around, too. Liner notes. Labels. visit to New York during his early twenties, he met and ultimately married Maria Hawkins, a singer from Boston. Cole received 28 Gold Record awards for such hits as "Sweet Lorraine" and "Ramblin' Rose" in 1962, "Too Young" in 1951, "Mona Lisa" in 1949, and Mel Torm's "Christmas Song." Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy and its Affiliates lies with the story's original source or writer. During World War II, Wesley Prince left the group and Cole replaced him with Johnny Miller. Parts of our site will not function correctly without them. He was also one of the first black men to be accepted wholeheartedly by many white folks during his time, owing to his unique talent of hosting various shows. A fourth member of the group who had participated in the plot was later arrested in connection with the act. Those close to him, however, knew for days and were able to see him in his last moments. Comparatively few of Coles latter-day fans, however, know that he was more than a singer. "Book Reviews: "Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole," by Leslie Gourse." View cart for details. Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles (he later dropped the "s" in his surname) in Montgomery, Alabama. The classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" was popularized by Cole in the late 1940s. His career as a vocalist, he told a reporter in 1945, had been an accident, going on to explain that a trio is so limited by lack of instruments that I sort of had to sing to add to the group. He stuck at first to lively, undemanding novelty songs such as Straighten Up and Fly Right, a Cole-written tune inspired by one of his fathers sermons. His otherwise smooth-textured voice had a faintly gravelly quality heightened by his chain smoking, and he sang with tuning-fork intonation and lapidary enunciation, though his drawn-out pronunciation of certain vowels, the long i of I and my in particular, was so idiosyncratic that Sammy Davis Jr. exaggerated it to witty effect in his uncanny impersonation of Cole (which can be viewed on YouTube). Please enter your email address. Booklet Volumes 3 and 4 contain 3 shellac records. During a neighborhood meeting, the residents expressed that they simply didn't want undesirables around, to which Cole replied, "Neither do I, and if I see any undesirables coming in here, I'll be the first to complain.". Later he filled in for his mother playing organ in the church. He churned out song after song, including classics like "Unforgettable" and "Mona Lisa." 16.57. Still later, in high school, he organized a 14-piece band with himself as leader and pianist. I swing the band.) But it was his recordings of ballads that made him a household name, and among the most memorable of them is the version of Ray Nobles The Very Thought of You that he cut with Gordon Jenkins, another of Sinatras preferred arrangers, in 1958. Cole was hired as the pianist for a jazz quartet that would play at the Swanee Inn nearHollywood, as told by uDiscover Music. The resulting broken rhythms disrupted the squared-off regularity of James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and the other Harlem-based stride pianists of the period. The day before he died, he did a radio interview, stating: "I am feeling better than ever. According to AllMusic, the two joined forces after Eddie returned from touring with Noble Sissle's band and formed their own swing sextet. The racist mob never showed up, resulting in the smaller-scale attack that transpired. In 1956, "The Nat King Cole Show" was the first of its kind for a known Black performer. Nat would continue playing piano with the revue for the rest of the tour, performing all across the country until the show, unfortunately, ran out of money in Long Beach in 1937, as described by the Orlando Sentinel. Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. According to Performing Songwriter, it was the first time that a holiday classic was introduced by a Black American, and it "opened the door for Lou Rawls, Ray Charles and many others to record their own takes on yuletide classics.". As told by Marianne Ruuth in her bookNat King Cole,he grew up in Chicago deeply entrenched in religious music, with a gospel choir leader for a mother and a reverend for a father. Shared with: Lee Gillette (Producer) For the album "The Nat King Cole Story". March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, AL. Have one to sell? He had always looked for work as a pianist and "played piano at almost every beer joint from San Diego to Bakersfield" before he finally landed a residency. November 23, 2019. The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in 1943 and Cole stayed with the recording company for the rest of his career. Throughout his career, Cole remained extremely close to his wife, Maria, and to their five children, Carol, Natalie, Kelly, and the twins, Timolin and Casey. Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. Nat's youngest brother Freddy Cole, and his daughter, Natalie Cole are also singers. Gone too soon at only 45 years old, Cole still managed to leave a lasting impact on music, culture, and history. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Cole struggled against racism throughout his career and on April 10, 1956, at Birmingham, Alabama, he was attacked by three white men from a white-supremacist group during a concert and sustained minor injuries to his back. Perlina also gave young Nat piano lessons, and although nothing specific is known about his course of study, it is obvious from the exceptional technical finish of his jazz playing that he received thorough training in the fundamentals of classical piano. Nat King Cole, too, fell to the allure of smoking. Subjected to all the barriers of the Jim Crow era, Cole's unprecedented success helped advance Black Americans' role in media, and while he never considered himself an activist, he would directly challenge segregation and contribute to the Civil Rights Movement. Nat "King" Cole: Soundies & Telescriptions. In a few short years, Cole dropped out of school at 15 years old to focus solely on pursuing a career in music. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP legal counsel at the time, even saw Cole as an "Uncle Tom." In the 1960s, he became the first nationally known black artist to host a television show, but it was canceled after one year because a national sponsor could not be found. Without a large sponsor, NBC was unable to keep the show scheduled during prime time and had to move it to a less coveted time slot. "I lost my baby in December. Years active. Here's a look into the untold truth of Nat King Cole. Cole agreed, both because he was an ambitious man who hungered for wider popularity and because he felt that he had exhausted the creative and commercial possibilities of the trio, with which he had been working for nearly a decade. Nat King Cole - Artist Details. Friedwald, Will (2006). Beginning in the late 1940s, Cole began recording and performing more pop-oriented material for mainstream audiences, often accompanied by a string orchestra. Instead, his most publicized relationship was his marriage to Maria Hawkins Ellington. 29 offers from $2.24. On November 5, 1956, The Nat King Cole Show debuted on NBC-TV. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. But despite success, Cole wanted to pursue a solo musical career. Five years after Coles death, Frank Sinatra announced his retirement from singing. From the start, Nat King Cole's mother supported his musical ambitions. The change in musical tastes during the late 1950s meant that Cole's ballad singing did not sell well with younger listeners, despite a successful stab at rock n' roll with "Send For Me" (peaked at #6 pop). Cole was dedicated to seeing the pioneering show succeed, not for the money but to break down barriers and disprove racial prejudices. Cole learned songs in languages other than English by rote. Portuguese) in 1959, and More Cole Espaol in 1962. By the summer of 1957, it was New York City's top-rated variety program. [10] In December 2011, Billboard began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data",[11] and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. Booklet Volumes 3 and 4 contain 3 shellac records. Children: 5, including Natalie Cole. These critiques hurt the musician, who would eventually take a more active role in the movement, including participating in the 1963 March on Washington and regularly performing at benefit concerts for civil rights groups. Nat took the advice seriously and, around the age of 12, started to dive into the classics, "playing everything from Bach to Rachmaninoff," according to Ruuth. Nat King Cole. They were also regular performers at clubs. But while Coles studies were central to his artistic development, he became obsessed early on with jazz in general and the pianism of Earl Hines in particular. At the same time, though, Cole wasn't an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement initially. He was to sell a total of 50 million records during . A heavy smoker, Cole died of lung cancer at age 45. Missing, however, is the element of contrast that Cole supplied when he started singing with the trio. After signing with Capitol Records in 1942, Cole and his trio recorded "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Sweet Lorraine" and "Embraceable You." All became major hits, the first of an uninterrupted series of smash recordings to follow for the next 20 years. This page was last edited on 11 November 2022, at 01:27. 34. How do the traditional Christmas standards perform on the chart? Nat King Cole, byname of Nathaniel Adams Cole, family name originally Coles, (born March 17, 1919, Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.died February 15, 1965, Santa Monica, California), American musician hailed as one of the best and most influential pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era. Although Cole had experienced virulent racism in his life and career, Cole, like Louis Armstrong, was never a crusader for racial justice. This song would be a great choice if your husband was a positive person who took an upbeat approach to life and rarely let things get him down. Completed in 1956, it was the world's first circular office building and became known as "the house that Nat built.". That year Cole released his memorable song "L-O-V-E," but at the close of 1964, the beloved entertainer also learned that he had lung cancer. Basin Street Revue. 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