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. Died With the sole exception of Louis Armstrong, he is the only major jazz musician to have been identically distinguished and influential as both an instrumentalist and a vocalist. Start your risk free trial with unlimited access. Born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole's first introduction to music was in the church. 2011. Of course, in the mid-20th century, smoking was irresistibly popular. 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. He and his first wife, Nadine Robinson,. The attack began at the rear of the auditorium when three men ran down the aisles towards Cole and his band. It became a hit instantly, but Cole was unsatisfied. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP legal counsel at the time, even saw Cole as an "Uncle Tom." Cole retorted "Neither do I. Shared with: Lee Gillette (Producer) For the album "The Nat King Cole Story". Nat King Cole The Christmas Song LP Red Colored 180g Vinyl. A Best Of album went gold in 1968. Album of the Year (Other Than Classical) For "The Nat "King" Cole Story" 1961 Nominee Grammy: Album of the Year. 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. there was no despair in his inter-pretations. 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. "I lost my baby in December. The Weeknd? The cancellation would turn out to be the permanent end of his career. He would later be known as Nat King Cole, the "Unforgettable" singer out of Montgomery, Alabama, whose other hits would include "Love" and, in 1946, the instant classic "The Christmas Song." While on a Cole's first marriage, to Nadine Robinson, ended in 1948. Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to being a skilled pianist, famous vocalist, and likable stage personality, according to Britannica, Cole also spent some time acting. 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. [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. His remains were interred inside Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Nat King Cole. 2nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. His final days were pretty grim. (As Cole himself said when asked to compare himself to Sinatra, the band swings Frank. 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. Displaying items, You can list a specific format by selecting one here, 78 RPM RECORD CAPITOL 2130 NAT KING COLE FUNNY, Vintage King Cole Trio 78rpm 4 Album Set Capitol Records, Capital presents THE KING COLE TRIO 78 RPM RECORDS Vol 1 and 2 BD-8 BD-29 Debut, The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole Trio - Capital 15201 - vintage 78rpm record, two vintage Nat King Cole Christmas songs 78rpm records - Frosty the Snow Man, Nat King Cole 78 RPM Capitol The Christmas Song My Two Front Teeth 1954 10" 2955, The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole Trio - Capital 311 - vintage 78rpm record, (4) 78 rpm 10" records Nat King Cole Capitol 1808-1501-2346-2687 (UNFORGETTABLE), King Cole Trio 78rpm Set Capitol Records #BD 8 New Old Stock, unopened, NAT "KING" COLE : THE CHRISTMAS SONG / NATURE BOY. Nat "King" Cole: Soundies & Telescriptions. Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919. PinkPantheress? Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Soon, he graduated to playing other characters, such as his roles inIstanbulandChina Gate. In 1956, "The Nat King Cole Show" was the first of its kind for a known Black performer. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. One of the key jazz voices of the 20th Century, Nat King Cole picked up fourteen UK Top 10 singles while his first album Love Is The Thing reached Number 1 in 1957. It is tragically ironic that a talented singer would partake in an activity that damages one's lungs and vocals. His rendition of "Sweet Lorraine" was so well-received that he continued to sing, and his pure musical talent, both vocally and on the piano, began to get the attention it deserved. Settling in California, the Coles had five children and made their home in Hancock Park in greater Los Angeles. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Nat King Cole - Swings Spirituals - Used Vinyl Record lp - E34A at the best online prices at eBay! One cosmetics representative claimed that a "negro" couldn't sell lipstick, to which Cole angrily responded, "What do they think we use? Constant touring paid the bills, and he remained one of the most sought-after acts in Las Vegas, but it galled him that he could not stay in the hotels where he performed, and though he continued to sing beautifully, he spent more and more studio time recording throwaway material such as the country-style Ramblin Rose (1962) and Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer (1963), as well as a sour-grapes novelty called Mr. Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra - Vocal Refrain by The King's Men. The Nat King Cole Story [45rpm 200g Vinyl] by Nat King Cole (Vinyl, Jan-2011, 5 Discs, Analogue Productions) $1,199.00 New. 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. Natalie, of course, has followed in her fathers difficult-to-fill footsteps as a highly successful recording artist in her own right. In 1960, Nat's long-time collaborator Nelson Riddle left Capitol Records for Frank Sinatra's newly formed Reprise Records label. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. 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. Their first chart success, Straighten Up and Fly Right (1943), was followed by hits such as Sweet Lorraine, Its Only a Paper Moon, (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons, and Route 66. Eventually, Coles piano playing took a backseat to his singing career. According to AllMusic, the two joined forces after Eddie returned from touring with Noble Sissle's band and formed their own swing sextet. Sold for 23.50 USD on 11 Mar 2022 (4 bids) 1. According to AL.com, his comments sparked criticisms among civil rights leaders, who felt that Cole hadn't done enough in pushing for change, especially since he had always agreed to perform for segregated audiences. 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. He churned out song after song, including classics like "Unforgettable" and "Mona Lisa." Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. 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. Sell it yourself. 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. Cole did not finish the concert and never again performed in the South. First Look: Could PinkPantheress or The Weeknd challenge Miley for Number 1? Adapting his style, however, was one factor that kept Cole popular up to his early death from lung cancer in 1965. 4th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 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. Its tune can also serve as a reminder that life goes on, even in . A decade earlier, Cole's mother died, also of cancer. Nat "King" Cole and His Trio. Cole voluntarily gave up the show with a simple commentary: Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. Eddie strongly encouraged Nat to learn how to read music and become proficient in the technical side of piano playing. 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. An African-American jazz pianist, pop vocalist, and balladeer, Cole's popularity is even more incredible considering the time period in which he thrived. 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. Thanks to electronics, she dusted beautifully on the song with the great Nat King Cole himself. Sponsored. 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). Audio CD. Twin girls Casey and Timolin were born in 1961. The couple's lavish Harlem wedding took place only six days after Cole and Robinson's divorce was finalized. The trio played in Los Angeles throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions. Though they recorded for the same label and worked with many of the same arrangers, the two men had little in common as singers. Nat King Cole recorded this for the first time in 1946 with his group The Nat King Cole Trio. His keyboarding had actually begun at age four, when he picked out Yes, We Have No Bananas, on the family piano. Personal Life Cole married for the first time when he was only 17. Genealogy for Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919 - 1965) family tree on Geni, with over 240 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Nat's youngest brother Freddy Cole, and his daughter, Natalie Cole are also singers. Handy in the movie about the composers life, St. In June 1946, the King Cole Trio cut the first record of Mel Torms The Christmas Song (known for its first line, Chestnuts roasting on an open fire). In 1948, Cole purchased a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Nat King Cole At The Sands (1966) - Antonio Morelli - Capitol Records SMAS-2434 Recorded live 1/14/1960 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. 3rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. November 23, 2019. They tried a couple of places, including Beverly Hills, but ultimately wanted somewhere away from the paparazzi and rowdy fans. In 1955, he acted as himself in a short biographical film,The Nat "King" Cole Musical Story, whichcovered his musical career and life story. [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. When Capitol Records signed the Beatles to its roster, Cole knew that his days as a pop superstar were numbered. In August 1948, the couple moved into their new home. Oxford University Press. Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles (he later dropped the "s" in his surname) in Montgomery, Alabama. His father died just two weeks before he did. Liner notes. 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. In December 1964, he was diagnosed with lung cancer when they discovered a tumor in his left lung, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. Cole was considered a leading jazz pianist, appearing, for example, in the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts (credited on the Mercury Record labels as "Shorty Nadine," apparently derived from the name of his wife at the time). His family later moved north to Chicago, where he grew up. Years active. We want to hear your thoughts about this article. As written by Marianne Ruuth, Cole saw himself as "an entertainer, not a politician." It opens with an out-of-tempo reading of the first eight bars that is sung with hushed delicacy, after which Cole slips almost imperceptibly into a very slow but nonetheless danceable tempo. 11 offers from $53.29. Cole attained his greatest commercial success, however, as a vocalist specializing in warm ballads and light swing. With his immense popularity, his first couple of roles in the 1940s were guest appearances that had him "largely playing some version of himself," as told by Biography. Get notified of exciting GRAMMY Award news and upcoming events! Corrections? Complete After Midnight Sessions 4 Bonus Tracks / 24Bit Digitally. In 1958, Cole went to Havana, Cuba, to record Cole Espaol, an album sung entirely in Spanish. visit to New York during his early twenties, he met and ultimately married Maria Hawkins, a singer from Boston. By Robert Pace 6:00 AM PDT, June 25, 2013. His enjoyable personality landed him the iconic gig as the host of his very own nationally televised show, as told by NPR. To that end, she persuaded him to move to Hancock Park, a wealthy, all-white Los Angeles neighborhood whose residents refused to accept the family (anonymous vandals burned a racial slur into their front lawn). Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers, and noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. That song, along with "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer," earned him two top 10 hits on the Billboard charts. You also need to do it for the public.. According to police, a plan had been developed four days earlier for a group of 150 white men to attack Cole. According to the Los Angeles Times, Cole was aware of his impending death. 10731074, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 05:16. By the start of the 1960s, Cole was only getting more popular. King Cole!" The name stuck. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. 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. Page 2", "From the Archives: Nat 'King' Cole dies of cancer at 45", "Bud Billiken Day Parade reaches 89th year", "Phillips High School is cradle of history", "Tracing the Highs and Tragic End of Sam Cooke", "Buck-Five Disk of Indies Seen Different Ways", "Show 22 Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66: A Skinny Dip in the Easy Listening Mainstream. Those close to him, however, knew for days and were able to see him in his last moments. January 1957. His mom, an amateur piano player herself, gave him piano lessons when he was as young as four years old, with "Yes, We Have No Bananas" being the first song he ever learned to play. The Nat King Cole story is a tale of two major talents, both owned by the same person. Free delivery for many products. By the 1950s, Nat King Cole had become a household name. A heavy smoker, Cole died of lung cancer at age 45. . Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to rack up hit after hit, including "Smile," "Pretend," "A Blossom Fell," "If I May." It is this final version that is the standard we hear today. 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. 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. In fact, he had started out as a jazz pianist of the highest distinction, the leader of the King Cole Trio, a cocktail combo (as such small groups were known in the 30s and 40s) that featured both his singing and his playing. 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. 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. 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). Privacy Policy. The racist mob never showed up, resulting in the smaller-scale attack that transpired. Active. Hancock Park, however, was an all-white neighborhood that had a "restrictive covenant" barring non-whites from living there unless they were servants. 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. Released in 1958, St. Louis Blues, in which Cole played the legendary blues musician W.C. Basin Street Revue. Friedwald, Will (2006). The show ultimately failed due to its inability to attract national sponsors because the program was hosted by a black person. As a kid, Cole played the organ and sang at church with his family. "[1] The program featured some of the most acclaimed artists,who performed at a fraction of their usual rate to help keep the show on the air. 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. An influence on jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Cole was known for a compact, syncopated piano style with clean, spare, melodic phrases. The prejudices of the era in which Cole lived hindered his potential for even greater stardom. 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. Genealogy profile for Nat King Cole. Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Carole signed the papers and rushed home, where Nat would die on Feb. 15, 1965. Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. In July 1948, Nat King Cole and his new wife began house-hunting, as described by Curbed. Even when he sang bleak torch songs such as The End of a Love Affair (1962), At the same time, though, he was highly influenced by his brother Eddie, who was six years older and a big fan of the popular jazz music that their father criticized. Initially begun as a 15-minute show on Monday night, the show was expanded to a half hour in July 1957. Coles singing career began inadvertently when a tipsy customer at a small Hollywood bistro insisted that he sing, Sweet Lorraine, which he did to an enthused response, not only from the drunk, but from the entire audience as well. The day before he died, he did a radio interview, stating: "I am feeling better than ever. Labels. At that point of his career, he was a highly recognized singer. 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. Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events, How To Watch The 2023 GRAMMYs & Live Red Carpet, ARTIST/RECORD LABEL/MEDIA REGISTRATION (OEP). 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