He rejected it, cheekily requesting $1 million instead. 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. 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. In August 1948, the couple moved into their new home. Copyright Songwriters Hall of Fame 2023. Lullaby of Harlem. Although Cole had experienced virulent racism in his life and career, Cole, like Louis Armstrong, was never a crusader for racial justice. All were later tried and convicted for the assault. 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. King Cole!" The name stuck. Nat "King" Cole. Cole had greater success with concert performances during the late 1950s and early 60s and twice toured with his own vaudeville-style reviews, The Merry World of Nat King Cole (1961) and Sights and Sounds (1963). . He barely had visitors, as they were apparently barred from his hospital room. Twin girls Casey and Timolin were born in 1961. Genealogy profile for Nat King Cole. A Best Of album went gold in 1968. Cole, who was greatly disappointed, made the difficult decision to pull the plug on the program. It's rare for songs to withstand the test of time and become classics. Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to rack up hit after hit, including "Smile," "Pretend," "A Blossom Fell," "If I May." When white stars, particularly women, came on the show, there was a pointed effort to make sure there was always some kind of barrier (such as a chair) between them and Cole to ensure audiences wouldn't be angry. Nat King Cole has a catalog full of both. "The Nat "King" Cole Show," Museum of Broadcast Communications, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Nat_King_Cole&oldid=1086902, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, Vocal jazz, swing, traditional pop, jump blues. Had Cole continued to lead the trio, he would be generally acknowledged as one of the most important jazz pianists of the 20th century. Nat King Cole. Children: 5, including Natalie Cole. Louis Blues. During the early 60s, Cole also travelled extensively, doing highly successful concert tours of Latin America, Japan, the European Continent and England. The trio played in Los Angeles throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions. Legend has it that, one night, a drunk customer demanded that the group sing. Later, Cole was chosen by Paramount Pictures to play W.C. Instead, his most publicized relationship was his marriage to Maria Hawkins Ellington. 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. Cole praised NBC for its support and directly blamed the advertising industry. Get notified of exciting GRAMMY Award news and upcoming events! 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. Died Lost your password? He was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 to throw his support behind President John F. Kennedy. 2011. Album of the Year (Other Than Classical) For "The Nat "King" Cole Story" 1961 Nominee Grammy: Album of the Year. 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). 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. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. Comparatively few of Coles latter-day fans, however, know that he was more than a singer. statistics still stand up, even though his singing career came to an abrupt close in 1965, when he died of lung cancer. NAT KING COLE Vinyl Records and CDs Nat King Cole's great piano work with his jazz trio got overshadowed by his massive vocal success in the 1950s yet each phase of his career offers up so many riches that it proves that the lines between jazz and popular music just don't matter. Cole grew up in Chicago, where, by age 12, he sang and played organ in the church where his father was pastor. "I lost my baby in December. What he could never have done was become a Sinatra-like cultural colossus, for he lacked Sinatras larger-than-life personality. Despite these horrific acts, the Coles never wavered, and Nat King Cole would live in his Hancock Park home until his death. Cole mastered this style as a teenager, adding to it an idiomatic feel for the blues that Hines lacked, along with a forward-looking harmonic vocabulary that prefigured bebop, the avant-garde jazz style of the 40s. Coles popularity allowed him to become the first African American to host a network variety program, The Nat King Cole Show, which debuted on NBC television in 1956. His birth date was on Saint Patrick's Day in 1919. 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. They were also regular performers at clubs. His family relocated to Chicago when he was very young, and both of his parents were active church members. The couple's lavish Harlem wedding took place only six days after Cole and Robinson's divorce was finalized. Later, in 1953, he recorded a rearrangement made by Nelson Riddle. 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. Reportedly, the all-white audience begged Cole to continue with the show, but he fervently refused and flew to Chicago after canceling his remaining three performances in the South. Nat King Cole: Encore. From 1942, when he and his Nat King Cole Trio became one of the first artists to sign with the fledgling Capitol Records, (a company in which the late Johnny Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. His 1957 recording of "When I Fall In Love" reached number four in the United Kingdom charts in 1987. 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. He always blamed the advertising executives for the show's end, bitterly commenting, "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.". 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. Why should they attack me?" 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. While on a Shared with: Lee Gillette (Producer) For the album "The Nat King Cole Story". 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.. 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. The LA Sentinel describes how Cole, who was known for his smooth, rich voice, would smoke as many as three packs a day. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. Nat King Cole, too, fell to the allure of smoking. There he formed the King Cole Trio (originally King Cole and His Swingsters), with guitarist Oscar Moore (later replaced by Irving Ashby) and bassist Wesley Prince (later replaced by Johnny Miller). "Smile" by Nat King Cole. He made his first professional recordings in 1936 and the following year put together what would become the King Cole Trio. Bill Dobbins and Richard Wang. As Cole described, while they "didn't bend over backwards" to please white audiences, they certainly did not want to offend them (viaReel Rundown). 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. Not until 1951 did Cole drop the trio for good, but in the ensuing years he had recorded a series of orchestra-accompanied ballads, among them Mona Lisa, Nature Boy, and Too Young, that made his artistic intentions clear. Privacy Policy. Yet despite this and other close encounters with the evils of racism, Cole remained outwardly unfazed and his white fans staunchly loyal. Active. 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. In . The first was in 1946 with the King Cole Trio. By the summer of 1957, it was New York City's top-rated variety program. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Nat soon married a dancer, Megan Robinson, and moved to Los Angeles where he formed the Nat King Cole Trio. 16.57. Cole voluntarily gave up the show with a simple commentary: Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. All rights reserved. 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. The day before he died, he did a radio interview, stating: "I am feeling better than ever. 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. During the late 1930s and early 40s the trio made several instrumental recordings, as well as others that featured their harmonizing vocals. As written by Marianne Ruuth, Cole saw himself as "an entertainer, not a politician." For a brief time when it debuted, the show had no sponsors. 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 . Born in Alabama on March 17, 1919, Nathaniel Adams Coles (he would later drop the "s") always had a musical streak. The song and the album of the same name won seven Grammy awards in 1992. [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. 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