Musician, born in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. He was raised in Chicago, where he made his recording debut in 1936 with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, a sextet led by his brother. He toured with a Shuffle Along revue in 1937, then settled in Los Angeles where he played solo piano for a year. In 1939 he began recording for Decca with his original King Cole Trio, whose pianobass-guitar instrumentation was widely copied by combos in the 1940s and 1950s. The group played in Hollywood and New York nightclubs until 1943, when it had its first national hit, Straighten Up and Fly Right, featuring solo singing by Cole. Starting with The Christmas Song (1946), he augmented his trio with a studio orchestra and gradually reduced the prominence of his piano playing, which had been highly influential among jazz musicians. By 1950 he had become the first black male to attain mainstream acceptance as a popular singer, and he released a continual series of hit records over the remainder of his career. In 19567 he was the first African-American to host his own network television show, but it failed to attract a national sponsor and was not renewed. In 1958 he portrayed W C Handy in the film biography St Louis Blues, one of several motion pictures in which he appeared. A biography, Unforgettable by Leslie Course, was published in 1991.
| Nat King Cole | ||
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Nat King Cole in The Blue Gardenia (1953) |
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Nathaniel Adams Coles | |
| Born | March 17, 1919, Montgomery, Alabama, United States | |
| Died | February 15, 1965 | |
| Genre(s) | Jazz | |
| Years active | 1930s-1965 | |
| Label(s) | Capitol | |
Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was a popular American singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Notable Songs
"Straighten Up and Fly Right" (Nat King Cole Definitive American Standard and Library of Congress National Recording Registry) "Its Only a Paper Moon" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "Sweet Lorraine" (Smithsonian Museum Definitive American Standard) "Embraceable You" (George and Ira Gershwin Smithsonian Museum Definitive American Standard 1943 Nat King Cole Trio Version) "Embraceable You" (Definitive Valentine's Day Standard March 23,1961 Nat King Cole Trio Last Recording) "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "I'm Thru with Love" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "The Frim Fram Sauce" (Nat King Cole Definitive Jazz Standard) "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" (Bobby Troup Definitive Jazz Standard),also Grammy Hall of Fame "Baby, Baby All the Time" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "You Call It Madness" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" (Definitive American Standard) Covered by Five Star in 1994 "The Christmas Song" with its opening line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire", (Mel Torme Definitive American Standard) (Nat's version recently voted the number one Christmas song of all time), also Grammy Hall of Fame Arranged by Charlie Grean "Too Marvelous for Words" (Johnny Mercer Definitive Jazz Standard) "For All We Know" (Great American Standard Nat King Cole Trio Version) "Nature Boy" composed by Eden Ahbez, also Grammy Hall of Fame Arranged by Frank De Vol "You've Changed" (Definitive Jazz Standard) "Portrait of Jennie" (Definitive American Movie Standard) Arranged by Carlyle Hall "Lush Life" (Billy Strayhorn Jazz and Cabaret Standard; Handy Great Blues Standard) the definitive version of the most recorded blues song Arranged by Nelson Riddle "The Touch of Your Lips" (Ray Noble Great British Standard) Arranged by Ralph Carmichael "I Remember You" (Johnny Mercer Great Cabaret Standard) Arranged by Ralph Carmichael "Poinciana" (Great American Cabaret Standard) Arranged by Ralph Carmichael "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (Great British Standard) Arranged by Ralph Carmichael "Let There Be Love" "Day In, Day Out" (Johnny Mercer Great American Standard) Arranged by Billy May "L-O-V-E" (Definitive American Standard) Arranged by Ralph Carmichael "Ramblin' Rose"Discography (Albums)
| Year | Album Title |
| 1944 | The King Cole Trio - Capitol Records (10 inch LP) |
| 1946 | The King Cole Trio Volume 2 (10 inch LP) |
| 1948 | The King Cole Trio Volume 3 (10 inch LP) |
| 1950 | Nat King Cole At The Piano (10 inch LP) |
| 1952 | Penthouse Serenade (10 inch LP) |
| 1952 | Top Pops (10 inch LP version) |
| 1952 | Harvest Of Hits (10 inch LP) |
| 1953 | Sings For Two In Love (10 inch LP) |
| 1954 | Unforgettable (10 inch originally, 12 inch following year) |
| 1955 | Penthouse Serenade (12 inch LP version) |
| 1955 | Nat King Cole Sings For Two In Love (12 inch LP version) |
| 1955 | 10th Anniversary Album (12 inch LP version) |
| 1955 | Top Pops (12 inch LP version) |
| 1955 | The Piano Style of Nat King Cole |
| 1956 | Ballads of the Day |
| 1957 | This Is Nat King Cole |
| 1957 | After Midnight |
| 1957 | Just One Of Those Things |
| 1957 | Love Is The Thing |
| 1958 | Cole Español |
| 1958 | St. Louis Blues |
| 1958 | The Very Thought Of You |
| 1958 | To Whom It May Concern |
| 1959 | Welcome To The Club |
| 1959 | A Mis Amigos |
| 1960 | Tell Me All About Yourself |
| 1960 | Everytime I Feel The Spirit |
| 1960 | Wild Is Love |
| 1960 | The Magic of Christmas |
| 1961 | The Nat King Cole Story |
| 1961 | The Touch of Your Lips |
| 1962 | Nat King Cole Sings, The George Shearing Quintet Plays (Bonus LP added to later pressings) |
| 1962 | Ramblin' Rose |
| 1962 | Dear Lonely Hearts |
| 1962 | Chartbusters: Volume 2 (Capitol Compilation LP, features "Ramblin Rose") |
| 1962 | More Cole Español |
| 1962 | Swingin' Side Of Nat King Cole (Reissue Of "Welcome To the Club") |
| 1963 | Nat King Cole Sings the Blues (Reissue Of St. Louis Blues) |
| 1963 | Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer |
| 1963 | Chartbusters: Volume 3 (Capitol Compilation LP, features "That Sunday, That Summer" & "Mr. Wishing Well") |
| 1963 | Top Pops (Reissue of 1955 album) |
| 1963 | Where Did Everyone Go? |
| 1963 | The Christmas Song (Reissue Of Magic Of Christmas plus title song) |
| 1964 | Chartbusters: Volume 4 (Capitol Compilation LP, features "My True Carrie, Love") |
| 1964 | Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady |
| 1964 | Let's Face The Music! |
| 1964 | I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore |
| 1965 | L-O-V-E (Released weeks before Cole Died) |
| Re-Releases (Released Posthumously) | |
| 1965 | Sings Songs From Cat Ballou & Other Motion Pictures |
| 1965 | Looking Back |
| 1965 | Unforgettable (1965 reissue of 1954 album) |
| 1965 | Sings Hymns & Spirituals (Reissue Of Every Time I Feel the Spirit) |
| 1965 | Nat King Cole Trio: The Vintage Years |
| 1965 | Nature Boy |
| 1966 | Nat King Cole At the Sands (Recorded Live on January 14, 1960) |
| 1966 | Sincerely, Nat King Cole |
| 1966 | Nat Cole Sings the Great Songs! |
| 1966 | Longines Symphonette Society Presents the Unforgettable Nat King Cole (Box Set) |
| 1967 | The Beautiful Ballads |
| 1967 | Thank You, Pretty Baby |
| 1968 | Best Of Nat King Cole |
| 1970 | The Magic Of Christmas With Children (Safeway Supermarket Promo LP) |
| 1973 | Nature Boy |
| 1974 | Love is a Many Splendored Thing |
| 1979 | Reader's Digest Presents: The Great Nat King Cole (4LP Box Set) |
| 1982 | Greatest Love Songs |
| 1983 | Unforgettable (Australia) |
| 1990 | Hit That Jive, Jack |
| 1990 | Jumpin' at Capitol |
| 1990 | Capitol Collectors' Series |
| 1990 | Cole, Christmas and Kids |
| 1991 | Big Band Cole (Repackaging of "Welcome To the Club" with bonus tracks) |
| 1991 | The Unforgettable Nat King Cole |
| 1992 | Christmas Favorites |
| 1992 | Selections From The Nat King Cole 4-CD Box Set (Promo) |
| 1992 | The Best Of The Nat King Cole Trio: The Instrumental Classics |
| 1993 | The Billy May Sessions (2Cd Set) |
| 1993 | Mis Mejores Canciones - 19 Super Exitos |
| 1994 | Greatest Hits (DCC Gold Disc version released 1995) |
| 1994 | Let's Face the Music & Dance (Not the 1964 album) |
| 1998 | The Frim Fram Sauce |
| 1999 | Live At The Circle Room (Radio Transcriptions From a 1944 Performance) |
| 2000 | Coast To Coast Live (1963 Concert At the Riverside Inn, Fresno, CA/1962 WNEW Radio Show) |
| 2000 | Route 66 |
| 2000 | Christmas & Kids) |
| 2001 | The King Swings |
| 2001 | Try Not To Cry |
| 2001 | Night Lights (album recorded in 1956, but never released) |
| 2003 | Stepping Out of a Dream |
| 2003 | The Classic Singles (4 CD Book) |
| 2003 | 20 Golden Greats |
| 2003 | The Best Of... |
| 2003 | Love Songs |
| 2003 | The Nat King Cole Trio (With Famous Guests) |
| 2003 | The One And Only Nat King Cole |
| 2005 | The World Of Nat King Cole (Bonus DVD added 2006) |
| 2006 | The Very Best of Nat King Cole |
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