Nat King Cole was in the final stages of lung cancer. Carole signed the papers and rushed home, where Nat would die on Feb. 15, 1965. Nat would sneak out of the house and hang outside the Chicago jazz clubs, listening to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Earl "Fatha" Hines, and Jimmie Noone. Apparently, he felt that smoking gave his voice the unique quality it had and would smoke "several cigarettes in rapid succession before a recording for that very purpose.". The nimble, darting interplay heard on records such as This Side Up (1940) and What Is This Thing Called Love? Eddie strongly encouraged Nat to learn how to read music and become proficient in the technical side of piano playing. They tried a couple of places, including Beverly Hills, but ultimately wanted somewhere away from the paparazzi and rowdy fans. Facing death himself, Cole was also dealing with grief. After 14 frustrating months, Cole called it quits, crisply telling a newspaper columnist that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. Nathaniel Adams Coles, professionally known as Nat King Cole, (March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965) was an American jazz musician, singer and songwriter.He was born in the southern city of Montgomery, Alabama.His father was a Christian minister.Millions of Nat King Cole's recordings were sold while he was alive. He formed his first jazz group, the Royal Dukes, five years later. He could not act well enough to launch a secondary film career like that of Sinatra or appear in a Broadway musical, his other thwarted ambition, and the fast-growing popularity of rock n roll was making him sound old-fashioned by comparison with Elvis Presley and the other teen-oriented acts who had come to dominate Americas airwaves. New (and updated) Christmas albums for 2021, Festive favourites that could reach the Top 40 for the first time this Christmas, NAT 'KING' COLE AND THE GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET, Miley? By the time he contracted lung cancer, he was estranged from his wife Maria while in a relationship with actress Gunilla Hutton, best known as Nurse Goodbody of Hee Haw fame. All GRAMMY Awards and Nominations for Nat "King" Cole. His hit song "Ramblin' Rose" jump-started a slight decline that crept up at the end of the '50s. In his words: You need to [change] for youto keep growing. To this day, singer-instrumentalists such as Diana Krall and John Pizzarelli continue to model their groups on the King Cole Trios stylish, tightly routined records, and Coles own brilliant playing left its mark on any number of younger pianists, among them Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, and Bill Evans, who called him probably the most underrated jazz pianist in the history of jazz.. In 1955, he acted as himself in a short biographical film,The Nat "King" Cole Musical Story, whichcovered his musical career and life story. Song Year: 1954. Nat learned to play the organ from his mother until the age of 12, when he began formal lessons. Nat King Cole. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article Nature Boy, Mona Lisa, Too Young, A Blossom Fell, and Unforgettable were among his major hits of the period. One cosmetics representative claimed that a "negro" couldn't sell lipstick, to which Cole angrily responded, "What do they think we use? Comparatively few of Coles latter-day fans, however, know that he was more than a singer. There, his father became a minister; Nat's mother, Perlina, was the church organist. Updates? 2nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. 3rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Nat King Cole 12.12.60 9 12 Wks 01.07.23 38 Ramblin' Rose Nat King Cole 08.04.62 . His deep, smooth voice remains one of the most recognizable on record, while his pop material and sentimental arrangements appealed to mainstream tastes. 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. Cole reportedly carried on affairs throughout his marriage. Still later, in high school, he organized a 14-piece band with himself as leader and pianist. But fame doesn't negate racist sentiments and violence. Something went wrong. Nat King Cole recorded this for the first time in 1946 with his group The Nat King Cole Trio. Profiles In Jazz. When he was attacked in Birmingham, Alabama, by a group of white supremacists, he was baffled at the violence he endured, saying, "I can't understand it. Before his tragic death, Cole underwent cancer surgery, which resulted in the removal of one of his lungs, per Los Angeles Times. His family relocated to Chicago when he was very young, and both of his parents were active church members. Nat King Cole 78rpm Single 10-inch Capitol Records #1449 Too Young, Nat King Cole 78rpm Single 10-inch Capitol Records #1010 Mona Lisa, Stan Kenton & Nat King Cole/ Jam-bo/ Orange colored sky Schellack 78 rpm, NAT KING COLE 78 RPM GRAMOPHONE RECORDS X 8. I have not taken part in any protests. On August 23, 1956, Cole spoke at the Republican National Convention in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. Revenues from Cole's record sales fueled much of Capitol Records' success during this period, and are believed to have played a significant role in financing the distinctive Capitol Records building on Hollywood and Vine, in Los Angeles. Cole become an internationally popular recording star, making such enormous hits as Mona Lisa, Nature Boy, Too Young, Route 66, Non Dimenticar, Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, The Christmas Song and Ramblin Rose, among them. Audio CD. Cole voluntarily gave up the show with a simple commentary: Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. Their real estate agent knew about this racist rule and circumvented it by hiring a light-skinned Black woman to buy the place for the Coles with a $6,000 down payment. . Instead, his style was quiet, understated, and arrestingly direct, as if he were sitting across from you, telling a story about a mutual friend. In July 1948, Nat King Cole and his new wife began house-hunting, as described by Curbed. The female solo artists with the most Number 1 albums, Miley Cyrus reigns at Number 1 for a sixth consecutive week with Flowers, NAT 'KING' COLE SINGS AND THE GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET PLAYS. 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. 29 offers from $2.24. Start your risk free trial with unlimited access. His keyboarding had actually begun at age four, when he picked out Yes, We Have No Bananas, on the family piano. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nat-King-Cole, Turner Classic Movies - Biography of Nat King Cole, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Biography of Nat "King" Cole, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Biography of Nat "King" Cole, Nat King Cole - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He was survived by his wife, Maria, and five children; three biological and two adopted. Coles second wife, Maria Ellington (no relation to Duke), felt the same way. On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), just six days after his divorce became final, Cole married singer Maria Hawkins Ellingtonno relation to Duke Ellington although she had sung with Ellington's band. Unfortunately, from the beginning,The Nat King Cole Show always struggled with one thing: sponsors. Mercer, first president of The Songwriters Hall of Fame, was a principal), until his death Cole remained with the label, turning out hit after hit. Cole's first marriage, to Nadine Robinson, ended in 1948. By 12 he was singing, too, says Britannica. But while the start of the '60s seemed very promising for Cole, he faced with some tragic news. For "Wild Is Love" Best Vocal Performance Album, Male. Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. Basin Street Revue. Record Labels Nat King Cole Recordings Sold to Universal Music Group By Chris Eggertsen . In addition, the absence of a drummer gave the trio a transparent sound that made it easier for Cole and Oscar Moore, an unsung pioneer of jazz guitar, to toss musical ideas back and forth, supported only by the swinging bass lines of Wesley Prince and, later, Johnny Miller. Although Nat would never be considered a rocker, the song can be seen as anticipating the first rock and roll records. 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. Please enter your email address. March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, AL. Pelote, Vincent. Cole first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist, then switched his emphasis to singing, becoming one of the most popular and best-known vocalists of all time. At the same time, though, Cole wasn't an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement initially. Sold for 32.24 USD on 22 Mar 2022 (4 bids) 78 rpm. As a toddler, he learned to play the piano (via Biography). 34. Hancock Park, however, was an all-white neighborhood that had a "restrictive covenant" barring non-whites from living there unless they were servants. All were later tried and convicted for the assault. In July 1948, Nat King Cole and his new wife began house-hunting, as described by Curbed. Noted for his warm tone and flawless phrasing, Cole was regarded among the top male vocalists, although jazz critics tended to regret his near-abandonment of the piano. He received music lessons from his mother and his family moved to Chicago when he was five, where his father Edward James Coles was a Baptist minister. Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. He was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 to throw his support behind President John F. Kennedy. The day before he died, he did a radio interview, stating: "I am feeling better than ever. Volume 4 is also issued in a box set of three 45-rpm records. The classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" was popularized by Cole in the late 1940s. View cart for details. One of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, Nat King Cole has given the world countless classics, from timeless love songs like "Unforgettable" and "L-O-V-E" to the holiday standard "The Christmas Song." Cole died in his sleep at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles. Inspired by the playing of Hines, Cole began his performing career in the mid-1930s while he was still a teenager, and adopted the name "Nat Cole." What some may not know, though, is that he recorded four versions of the song. He passed away. Grove Music Online. And yet, many of his Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Riddle arranged several of Cole's 1950s albums, including his first 10-inch long-play album, his 1953 Nat King Cole Sings For Two In Love. As a kid, Cole played the organ and sang at church with his family. His stature as a popular icon was cemented during this period by hits such as "The Christmas Song" (Cole recorded the tune four times), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Mona Lisa" (1950), "Too Young" (1951), and his signature tune "Unforgettable" (1951). By the summer of 1957, it was New York City's top-rated variety program. The brothers were also hired to perform in the "revival of the all-black Broadway musical revue Shuffle Along" for their Chicago stop. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. According toThe Guardian,cigarette smoking was not only "the epitome of cool and glamour," but it was also cheap and accessible. The public, who knew very little about the severity of his condition, was shocked. 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. Sold for 23.50 USD on 11 Mar 2022 (4 bids) 1. Incredibly, Coles singing was as extraordinary as his playing. King Cole!" The name stuck. On one hand, his existence as a popular Black musician certainly challenged racist sentiments and broke down many barriers. Web. Later he filled in for his mother playing organ in the church. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP legal counsel at the time, even saw Cole as an "Uncle Tom." eBay Money Back Guarantee. New Releases. Capitol 78-rpm albums [ edit] Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. 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. The show fell victim to the bigotry of the times, however, and was canceled after one season; few sponsors were willing to be associated with a Black entertainer. His father died just two weeks before he did. Naxos of America / OKeh Records AllMusic Quiz. His older brother, Eddie Coles, a bassist, soon joined Nat's band and they first recorded in 1936 under Eddie's name. Omissions? Only one person other than Cole's wife would get to visit Cole before he died, and that was comedian Jack Benny. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919, Nathaniel Adams Coles (he dropped the s after he started playing music professionally) was one of four musically talented sons of a grocer who longed to preach the gospel. Perhaps her single most popular work to date, was her number one Elektra recording last year of Unforgettable, one of her fathers biggest-selling hits of all. When I Fall in Love: The One and Only Nat King Cole. Shared with: Lee Gillette (Producer) For the album "The Nat King Cole Story". His talents extended beyond singing and piano playing: he excelled as a relaxed and humorous stage personality, and he was also a capable actor, evidenced by his performances in the films Istanbul (1957), China Gate (1957), Night of the Quarter Moon (1959), and Cat Ballou (1965); he also played himself in The Nat King Cole Musical Story (1955) and portrayed blues legend W.C. (1944) has lost none of its freshness eight decades later. Free delivery for many products. The trio consisted of Nat on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on double bass. He learned not only jazz and gospel music, but European classical music as well. In 1958, Cole went to Havana, Cuba, to record Cole Espaol, an album sung entirely in Spanish. In Will Friedwalds well-chosen words, he could do almost anything that any other artist could do, but no one else could do what he did.. His father was a preacher in the Baptist church. His pop hits were collaborations with well-known arrangers and conductors of the day, including Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Ralph Carmichael. Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 February 15, 1965), born Nathaniel Adams Coles, was a popular American jazz singer-songwriter and pianist. According to NPR, he sold over 50 million records and had hit after hit during his career, including more than 30 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 (via Billboard). He was, without a doubt, a pioneer, but that doesn't mean his many successes came without struggles. In the days leading up to Cole's death, he was able to go on short drives with his wife and visit his children at their family home in Hancock Park. "Madison Avenue," Cole said, "is afraid of the dark. 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. Fortunately, it is not necessary to choose between the two Nat Coles: They were two different sides of a great popular artist, one who gave fully of himself in both capacities. The last episode of The Nat King Cole Show aired December 17, 1957. Sell it yourself. Born in Alabama on March 17, 1919, Nathaniel Adams Coles (he would later drop the "s") always had a musical streak. According to police, a plan had been developed four days earlier for a group of 150 white men to attack Cole. An influence on jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Cole was known for a compact, syncopated piano style with clean, spare, melodic phrases. Apparently, his part-time efforts paid off, because by the time he was 15, he had dropped out of school and was pursuing music full-time. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. He even left the hospital to see his children one last time in a brief car ride home with his wife. At a time when Jim Crow was the law of the land and the Civil Rights Movement was growing stronger, Nat King Cole played a complicated role. 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. In 1956, "The Nat King Cole Show" was the first of its kind for a known Black performer. This page was last edited on 11 November 2022, at 01:27. Cole performed a posthumous "virtual" duet with his daughter, recording star Natalie Cole, for the title track of the 1991 Grammy Awardwinning album Unforgettable . Missing, however, is the element of contrast that Cole supplied when he started singing with the trio. By Robert Pace 6:00 AM PDT, June 25, 2013. Album of the Year (Other Than Classical) For "The Nat "King" Cole Story" 1961 Nominee Grammy: Album of the Year. While Cole was not the first African-American to host a network television showan honor belonging to jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott in 1950 Cole's stature made the venture more socially significant, which Cole himself recognized. Cole was hired as the pianist for a jazz quartet that would play at the Swanee Inn nearHollywood, as told by uDiscover Music. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Cole frequently consulted with President Kennedy (and later President Johnson) on the issue of civil rights. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. Eventually, NBC was able to get about 30 local sponsors, but there was never a national corporate sponsor that would support the program, as mentioned by NPR. While there were some difficulties regarding the whole event the Waldorf Astoria refused to host the wedding because they were Black, and Ellington's aunt (who'd raised her) boycotted the wedding because of Cole's lower-class status the marriage would last until Cole's death in 1965 (via Harlem World Magazine). The first was in 1946 with the King Cole Trio. Moreover, his appeal, like that of Armstrong, crossed racial lines, and did so at a time when much of America was still segregated, a fact that led to his being assaulted on stage by a group of white supremacists during a concert he was giving in Birmingham in 1956. Record Of The Year Ramblin' Rose (Single) More from the 5th A Awards. The cancellation would turn out to be the permanent end of his career. The Best of the Nat King Cole Trio: The Vocal Classics 1942-46. 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). He died on February 15, 1965, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California and his funeral was held in Los Angeles. The year was 1936, and Cole had left his hometown of Chicago to go on tour with a Broadway musical revue. [12] A handful of Cole recordings have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there. with Love. The Weeknd? In London, he performed at a But after some prodding from the manager who insisted since the customer was a "big spender," Cole agreed. Born . The trumpet-style piano of Hines, who played on Louis Armstrongs hugely influential 1928 recordings, combined darting, horn-like, right-hand solo lines played in octaves with angular left-hand accompanying patterns. The Songwriters Hall of Fame's ongoing mission is to celebrate and honor the contributions and legacies of songwriters of all genres of music while developing and nurturing the next generation of songwriters through Master Sessions, songwriting craft forums, scholarships and digital initiatives. 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. Nat King Cole: Encore. Singer. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. He also performed as a pianist on sessions with Lester Young, Red Callender, and Lionel Hampton. His father, Edward James Coles, was a Baptist minister, while his mother, Perlina Adams, was the soprano soloist and director of the choir in her husbands church. While this shift to pop music led some jazz critics and fans to accuse Cole of selling out, he never totally abandoned his jazz roots; as late as 1956, he recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight. According to UDiscover Music, Cole also had perfect pitch, making him able to pick out and identify a note on the piano in an instant. 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. Full-time combos of any sort were uncommon in the swing era, and the King Cole Trio would have stood out for that reason alone. In 1960, Nat's long-time collaborator Nelson Riddle left Capitol Records for Frank Sinatra's newly formed Reprise Records label. Later, Cole was chosen by Paramount Pictures to play W.C. Active. Initially a short 15-minute program, the show's popularity soared once it was able to express its full potential with a 30-minute prime-time slot. Nat King Cole The Christmas Song LP Red Colored 180g Vinyl. Then in 1956, he was assaulted on stage while singing the song "Little Girl" in Birmingham, Alabama, by three members of the North Alabama White Citizens' Council, who apparently were attempting to kidnap him. 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. The advertising executives of Madison Avenue refused to risk alienating their white audience base, who was likely to respond with prejudice to a show hosted by a Black American, even one as popular and admired as Nat King Cole. Cole's family moved to Chicago, Illinois, while he was still a child. He and one of the dancers, Nadine Robinson, hit it off, and by 1937, the two were married in Michigan, as told by AllMusic. Had Cole continued to lead the trio, he would be generally acknowledged as one of the most important jazz pianists of the 20th century. 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. Cole was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, and in 1997 was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. Nat "King" Cole. Genealogy for Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919 - 1965) family tree on Geni, with over 240 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Cole Espanol: Greatest Hits by Nat King Cole (Record, 2018) (5) $18.48 New. Sold for 19.99 USD on 28 May 2022 (Buy It Now) 78 rpm. 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