Later he filled in for his mother playing organ in the church. First airing in November 1956,The Nat King Cole Show was the very first time that a Black man was able to host a variety program, a historic development which saw Americans all across the country turning on their televisions to welcome an African-American host into their homes. In addition to being a skilled pianist, famous vocalist, and likable stage personality, according to Britannica, Cole also spent some time acting. All that remained was for Cole to fully realize his potential as a vocalistsomething that happened sooner than anyone, even Mercer, could possibly have expected. Sponsored. Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. During World War II, Wesley Prince left the group and Cole replaced him with Johnny Miller. there was no despair in his inter-pretations. Nat King Cole: Encore. 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. Louis Blues. During the early 60s, Cole also travelled extensively, doing highly successful concert tours of Latin America, Japan, the European Continent and England. One of the men was identified to be a member of the white supremacist group White Citizens' Council. 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. Please enter your email address. By the 1950s, Nat King Cole emerged as a popular solo performer with numerous hits including "Mona Lisa", "Smile" and "Unforgettable". with Love. An influence on jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Cole was known for a compact, syncopated piano style with clean, spare, melodic phrases. 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). The brothers were also hired to perform in the "revival of the all-black Broadway musical revue Shuffle Along" for their Chicago stop. All GRAMMY Awards and Nominations for Nat "King" Cole. Why should they attack me?" Years active. Cole performed in many short films, sitcoms, television shows, and played W. C. Handy in the film St. Louis Blues (1958). The writers pointed out that he made a grammatical error during the last line of the bridge. The Nat King Cole story is a tale of two major talents, both owned by the same person. Record Labels Nat King Cole Recordings Sold to Universal Music Group By Chris Eggertsen . The six men arrested were all originally charged with "assault with intent to murder," but the charges were later changed to "conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor" for four of them. The second version, released in November, established the song as a seasonal standard, and three days after recording it, Cole made an even more successful trio-only record of (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons that shot to the No. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. It's rare for songs to withstand the test of time and become classics. "Justin and I did the classic record 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.' This record is . Thousands flocked to build a life on South . 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. The show ultimately failed due to its inability to attract national sponsors because the program was hosted by a black person. When they came upon a house in Hancock Park, they agreed that they had found their future home. Jazz singer Nat King Cole was best known for songs like "The Christmas Song" and "Ramblin' Rose" (via Billboard).He became a popular crooner in the 1950s, and made history when he became the first Black man to host a regular TV variety show. Gone too soon at only 45 years old, Cole still managed to leave a lasting impact on music, culture, and history. Nature Boy, Mona Lisa, Too Young, A Blossom Fell, and Unforgettable were among his major hits of the period. He also appeared in The Nat King Cole Story, China Gate, and The Blue Gardenia (1953). Oxford University Press. Cole did manage to record some hit singles during the 1960s, including the country-flavored hit "Ramblin' Rose" and "Dear Lonely Hearts," "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer," "Let Me Tell You, Babe," and "That Sunday, That Summer.". Born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole's first introduction to music was in the church. Cole was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, and in 1997 was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. In his spare time, Cole also became a hot sandlot baseball player, and while he never made it to the pros, he became an ardent follower of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 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). Start your risk free trial with unlimited access. 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. 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. Parts of our site will not function correctly without them. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. . When the young singer first achieved some modest success, he made several important changes, dropping the s from his last name, and adding the new middle nickname, King. When he first began attracting recognition, he was more keyboardist than singer, having developed a strong jazz style in his playing. While Cole certainly had a more understated public role in the Civil Rights Movement, he was apparently quite outspoken in private among his high-profile friends, including Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Basin Street Revue. His hit song "Ramblin' Rose" jump-started a slight decline that crept up at the end of the '50s. Active. Nat King Cole, too, fell to the allure of smoking. Once a week, Americans tuned in to watch as Cole and other musicians performed on television (via Indiana Public Media). Contents 1 Childhood and Chicago 2 Los Angeles and the King Cole Trio 3 Early singing career 4 Challenging racial barriers They were also regular performers at clubs. Jazz king Nat King Cole registers in the heart of music lovers as the legendary jazz pianist, singer with a melodious and harmless baritone. Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers, and noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. Not much is publicly known about this first marriage, which came to an end about 11 years later in 1948. 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.". January 1957. Missing, however, is the element of contrast that Cole supplied when he started singing with the trio. In Cole, Nat King. [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. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. This vintage song carries the timeless message to keep your chin up when life looks bleak. 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. . 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 . For a brief time when it debuted, the show had no sponsors. The Best of the Nat King Cole Trio: The Vocal Classics 1942-46. Eddie strongly encouraged Nat to learn how to read music and become proficient in the technical side of piano playing. 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. Incredibly, Coles singing was as extraordinary as his playing. Cole was dedicated to seeing the pioneering show succeed, not for the money but to break down barriers and disprove racial prejudices. The program featured some of the hottest stars of the day, both Black and white, including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennet, Count Basie, Peggy Lee, and more. March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, AL. His birth date was on Saint Patrick's Day in 1919. Cole grew up in Chicago, where, by age 12, he sang and played organ in the church where his father was pastor. Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919. Evan Tyrone Martin's homage to the late beloved singer continues with a holiday tribute show, "An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas," which Martin will perform at the Marriott Theatre on . The attack began at the rear of the auditorium when three men ran down the aisles towards Cole and his band. The year was 1936, and Cole had left his hometown of Chicago to go on tour with a Broadway musical revue. Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events. In 1937, after finishing high school, he wrote his first song, Straighten up and Fly Right, which he eventually sold for $50. His father died just two weeks before he did. During the late 1930s and early 40s the trio made several instrumental recordings, as well as others that featured their harmonizing vocals. 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. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Completed in 1956, it was the world's first circular office building and became known as "the house that Nat built.". While on a 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. Cole died in his sleep at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. In 1955, he acted as himself in a short biographical film,The Nat "King" Cole Musical Story, whichcovered his musical career and life story. In June 1946, the King Cole Trio cut the first record of Mel Torm's "The Christmas Song" (known for its first line, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire"). A heavy smoker, Cole died of lung cancer at age 45. All rights reserved. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Equally skilled as a jazz pianist and a middle-of-the-road pop crooner, Cole would still be remembered with affection today if he only had one of those musical identities. (This special compilation also was available as a 27 high-quality LP record set.). Continuing to market himself as an instrumentalist, Cole and his newly formed combo, including guitar, bass and drums, along with his piano, finally won some success on the club circuit, at a time when larger band groups and singers were considerably more popular than trios and quartets. In 1991, Mosaic Records released The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio, an 18 compact disc set, consisting of 349 songs. "Cole, Nat 'King'." 2011. visit to New York during his early twenties, he met and ultimately married Maria Hawkins, a singer from Boston. Oxford Music Online. Sell it yourself. That song, along with "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer," earned him two top 10 hits on the Billboard charts. By 12 he was singing, too, says Britannica. As a kid, Cole played the organ and sang at church with his family. 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). The Weeknd? He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, cut his last records on December 3, and died 10 weeks later at the age of 45, by all accounts a disappointed man. As a toddler, he learned to play the piano (via Biography). 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. Nat King Cole - Artist Details. Corrections? Jazz singer Nat King Cole was best known for songs like "The Christmas Song" and "Ramblin' Rose" (via Billboard). After 14 frustrating months, Cole called it quits, crisply telling a newspaper columnist that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. Nat "King" Cole and His Trio. By the start of the 1960s, Cole was only getting more popular. Sold for 19.99 USD on 28 May 2022 (Buy It Now) 78 rpm. [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. The prejudices of the era in which Cole lived hindered his potential for even greater stardom. . @ 2023 - Recording Academy. His daughter Natalie was also a popular singer who achieved her greatest chart success in 1991 with Unforgettable, an electronically created duet with her late father. 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. They were the big act on Columbia Records, who had them re-record the song with a string section - the first time the trio used strings on a record. I have not taken part in any protests. Anniversary Flashback: Al Martino gains first UK Number 1 single 70 years ago. A wholly mainstream singer and entertainer, Cole was eventually offered his own TV show, which he very much wanted. Chalk? Coles second wife, Maria Ellington (no relation to Duke), felt the same way. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The next month, he underwent surgery to remove the lung, but it was too late. In addition to being an incomparable lyricist, Mercer was also a shrewd talent scout, and he sensed that Coles singing was capable of appealing to white listeners as well as black ones (the trio had previously recorded for Deccas Sepia Series of race records that were specifically marketed to urban blacks). Jenkins arranged Love Is the Thing, #1 on the album charts in April 1957. [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. He received music lessons from his mother and his family moved to Chicago when he was only five, where his father, Edward James Coles, was a minister at the True Light Baptist Church and later Pastor of the First Baptist Church . 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. Chiefly known today as a performer of romantic ballads, he had a dark, grainy baritone voice with which he sang in a style at once intimate and unmannered. She began recording again after a stint in rehab in. 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. His final days were pretty grim. Mannie . For "Wild Is Love" Best Vocal Performance Album, Male. 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. Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. Cole performed a posthumous "virtual" duet with his daughter, recording star Natalie Cole, for the title track of the 1991 Grammy Awardwinning album Unforgettable . Personal Life Cole married for the first time when he was only 17. 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. 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. Benny would give the eulogy at Cole's funeral service a few days later, per the Desert Sun, posted at theCalifornia Digital Newspaper Collection. It sold over 500,000 copies, and proved that folk-based material could appeal to a wide audience. The classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" was popularized by Cole in the late 1940s. ISBN links support NWE through referral fees. . Cole's first mainstream vocal hit was his 1943 recording of one of his compositions, "Straighten Up and Fly Right," based on a black folk tale that his father had used as a theme for a sermon. The men was identified to be a member of the era in which Cole lived hindered potential! 1942, Cole was dedicated to seeing the pioneering show succeed, not for the next month, underwent... The '50s Roasting on an Open Fire ) '' was popularized by Cole in the late 1940s was on Patrick! Found their future home Universal music group by Chris Eggertsen how many records did nat king cole sell late 1940s known this! To create a new password via email by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic John 's in. 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