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Nat King Cole

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Nat King Cole
Cole in 1959
Cole in 1959
Background information
Birth nameNathaniel Adams Coles
Born(1919-03-17)March 17, 1919
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 1965(1965-02-15) (aged 45)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • pianist
  • actor
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active1934–1965
Labels

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. 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. He received numerous accolades including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960) and a Special Achievement Golden Globe Award.[1] Posthumously, Cole has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1990), along with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award (1992) and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000), and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2020).

Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, where he formed The King Cole Trio which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950 he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, during his career he faced intense racial discrimination. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil rights organizations. From 1956 to 1957, he hosted the NBC variety series The Nat King Cole Show, which became the first nationally broadcast television show hosted by an African American.

Some of his most notable singles include "Unforgettable", "Smile", "L-O-V-E", "Let There Be Love", "Mona Lisa", "Autumn Leaves", "Stardust", "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "The Very Thought of You", "For Sentimental Reasons", "Embraceable You" and "Almost Like Being in Love". He is known for his Christmas album The Magic of Christmas (1960) which included "The Christmas Song"; in 1999 it was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time.[2] He was the father of singer Natalie Cole (1950–2015), who covered her father's songs in the 1991 album Unforgettable... with Love.

Discover more about Nat King Cole related topics

Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, directors, producers, musicians, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award that is awarded by The Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and the Grammy Trustees Award, which honors non-performers. The honour was established in 1962, with the first awarded recipient in 1963.

Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records, LLC is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note in the United States in 1942 by Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn E. Wallichs. Capitol was acquired by British music conglomerate EMI as its North American subsidiary in 1955. EMI was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012, and was merged with the company a year later, making Capitol and the Capitol Music Group both distributed by UMG. The label's circular headquarters building is a recognized landmark of Hollywood, California.

Jazz band

Jazz band

A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a horn section.

Civil rights movement

Civil rights movement

The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. The movement had its origins in the Reconstruction era during the late 19th century, although it made its largest legislative gains in the 1960s after years of direct actions and grassroots protests. The social movement's major nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience campaigns eventually secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans.

L-O-V-E

L-O-V-E

"L-O-V-E" is a song written by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler, recorded by Nat King Cole for his 1965 studio album L-O-V-E.

Let There Be Love (1940 song)

Let There Be Love (1940 song)

"Let There Be Love" is a popular song with music by Lionel Rand and lyrics by Ian Grant, published in 1940.

Autumn Leaves (1945 song)

Autumn Leaves (1945 song)

"Autumn Leaves" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with original lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French, and later by Johnny Mercer in English. An instrumental version by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best-seller in the US Billboard charts of 1955.

For Sentimental Reasons (Nat King Cole album)

For Sentimental Reasons (Nat King Cole album)

For Sentimental Reasons: 25 Early Vocal Classics is one of a number of albums released on the ASV/Living Era label, featuring recording artists mostly from the 1940s and 1950s, named for one of the major hits by the artist in question. This compact disc features recordings made by Nat King Cole between 1941 and 1946, at the beginning of Cole's career.

Embraceable You

Embraceable You

"Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East Is West. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway musical Girl Crazy, performed by Ginger Rogers in a song and dance routine choreographed by Fred Astaire.

Almost Like Being in Love

Almost Like Being in Love

"Almost Like Being in Love" is a show tune with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It was written for the score of their 1947 musical Brigadoon. The song was first sung by David Brooks and Marion Bell, in the Broadway production. It was later performed in the 1954 film version by Gene Kelly.

Biography

Early life

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919.[3] He had three brothers: Eddie (1910–1970), Ike (1927–2001), and Freddy (1931–2020),[4] and a half-sister, Joyce Coles.[5] Each of the Coles brothers pursued careers in music.[5] When Cole was four years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his father, Edward Coles, became a Baptist minister.[6]

Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina Coles, the church organist.[7] His first performance was "Yes! We Have No Bananas" at the age of four.[8] He began formal piano lessons at 12,[9] learning jazz, gospel, and classical music "from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff".[10] As a youth, he joined the news delivery boys' "Bud Billiken Club" band for The Chicago Defender.[11]

The Cole family moved to the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago,[12] where he attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School,[13] the school Sam Cooke attended a few years later.[14] He participated in Walter Dyett's music program at DuSable High School.[15] He would sneak out of the house to visit clubs, sitting outside to hear Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jimmie Noone.[16]

Early career

Nat King Cole, Paramount Theater, New York City, November 1946
Nat King Cole, Paramount Theater, New York City, November 1946

When he was 15, Cole dropped out of high school to pursue a music career. After his brother Eddie, a bassist, came home from touring with Noble Sissle, they formed a sextet and recorded two singles for Decca in 1936 as Eddie Cole's Swingsters. They performed in a revival of the musical Shuffle Along. Nat Cole went on tour with the musical. In 1937, he married Nadine Robinson, who was a member of the cast. After the show ended in Los Angeles, Cole and Nadine settled there while he looked for work. He led a big band and found work playing piano in nightclubs. When a club owner asked him to form a band, he hired bassist Wesley Prince and guitarist Oscar Moore. They called themselves the King Cole Swingsters after the nursery rhyme in which "Old King Cole was a merry old soul". They changed their name to the King Cole Trio before making radio transcriptions and recording for small labels.[17]

Cole recorded "Sweet Lorraine" in 1940, and it became his first hit.[18] According to legend, his career as a vocalist started when a drunken bar patron demanded that he sing the song. Cole said that this fabricated story sounded good, so he did not argue with it. There was a customer one night who demanded that he sing, but because it was a song Cole did not know, he sang "Sweet Lorraine" instead. As people heard Cole's vocal talent, they requested more vocal songs, and he obliged.[19]

1940s

In 1941, the trio recorded "That Ain't Right" for Decca, followed the next year by "All for You" for Excelsior.[17] They recorded "I'm Lost", a song written by Otis René, the owner of Excelsior.[20]

I started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime I started singing and I sang the way I felt and that's just the way it came out.

— Nat King Cole, Voice of America interview, c.1956.[21][22]

Cole appeared in the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in 1944. He was credited on Mercury as "Shorty Nadine", a derivative of his wife's name, because he had an exclusive contract with Capitol[23] since signing with the label the year before. He recorded with Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young.[18]

King Cole Trio Time on NBC with Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on double bass, 1947
King Cole Trio Time on NBC with Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on double bass, 1947

In 1946, the trio broadcast King Cole Trio Time, a 15-minute radio program. This was the first radio program to be hosted by a black musician. Between 1946 and 1948, the trio recorded radio transcriptions for Capitol Records Transcription Service.[24][25] They performed on the radio programs Swing Soiree, Old Gold, The Chesterfield Supper Club, Kraft Music Hall, and The Orson Welles Almanac.[26][27]

Cole began recording and performing pop-oriented material in which he was often accompanied by a string orchestra. His stature as a popular star was cemented by hits such as "All for You" (1943), "The Christmas Song" (1947),[28] "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" (1946), "There! I've Said It Again" (1947), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Frosty The Snowman", "Mona Lisa" (No. 1 song of 1950), "Orange Colored Sky" (1950), "Too Young" (the No. 1 song of 1951).[29]

1950s

On June 7, 1953, Cole performed for the ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Chicago which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Shorty Rogers, Earl Bostic, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton.[30][31]

On November 5, 1956, The Nat 'King' Cole Show debuted on NBC. The variety program was one of the first hosted by an African American.[32] The program started at a length of fifteen minutes but was increased to a half-hour in July 1957. Rheingold Beer was a regional sponsor, but a national sponsor was never found. The show was in trouble financially despite efforts by NBC, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, and Mel Tormé.[33] Cole decided to end the program. The last episode aired on December 17, 1957.[34] Commenting on the lack of sponsorship, Cole said shortly after its demise: "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."[35][36]

Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to record hits that sold millions throughout the world, such as "Smile", "Pretend", "A Blossom Fell", and "If I May". His pop hits were collaborations with Nelson Riddle,[21] Gordon Jenkins, and Ralph Carmichael. Riddle arranged several of Cole's 1950s albums, including Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love (1953), his first 10-inch LP. In 1955, "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" reached number 7 on the Billboard chart. Love Is the Thing went to number one in April 1957 and remained his only number one album.

In 1959, he received a Grammy Award for Best Performance By a "Top 40" Artist for "Midnight Flyer".[37]

Capitol Records Building, known as "The House That Nat Built" on Vine St.
Capitol Records Building, known as "The House That Nat Built" on Vine St.

In 1958, Cole went to Havana, Cuba, to record Cole Español, an album sung entirely in Spanish. It was so popular in Latin America and the U.S. that it was followed by two more Spanish-language albums: A Mis Amigos (1959) and More Cole Español (1962).

After the change in musical tastes, Cole's ballads appealed little to young listeners, despite a successful attempt at rock and roll with "Send for Me",[21] which peaked at number 6 on the pop chart. Like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett, he found that the pop chart had been taken over by youth-oriented acts.

1960s

In 1960, Cole's longtime collaborator Nelson Riddle left Capitol to join Reprise Records, which was established by Frank Sinatra. Riddle and Cole recorded one final hit album, Wild Is Love, with lyrics by Ray Rasch and Dotty Wayne. Cole later retooled the concept album into an Off-Broadway show, I'm with You.

Nevertheless, Cole recorded several hit singles during the 1960s, including "Let There Be Love" with George Shearing in 1961, the country-flavored hit "Ramblin' Rose" in August 1962 (reaching No. 2 on the Pop chart), "Dear Lonely Hearts" (No. 13), "That Sunday, That Summer" (No. 12) and "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"[21] (his final top-ten hit, reaching number 6 on the Pop chart). He performed in many short films, sitcoms, and television shows and played W. C. Handy in the film St. Louis Blues (1958). He appeared in The Nat King Cole Story, China Gate, and The Blue Gardenia (1953).

In January 1964, Cole made one of his final television appearances, on The Jack Benny Program. He was introduced as "the best friend a song ever had" and sang "When I Fall in Love". Cat Ballou (1965), his final film, was released several months after his death.

Earlier on, Cole's shift to traditional pop led some jazz critics and fans to accuse him of selling out, but he never abandoned his jazz roots; as late as 1956 he recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight, and many of his albums after this are fundamentally jazz-based, being scored for big band without strings, although the arrangements focus primarily on the vocal rather than instrumental leads.

Cole had one of his last major hits in 1963, two years before his death, with "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer", which reached number 6 on the Pop chart. "Unforgettable" was made famous again in 1991 by Cole's daughter Natalie when modern recording technology was used to reunite father and daughter in a duet. The duet version rose to the top of the pop charts, almost forty years after its original popularity.[38]

Cole's final studio album was titled L-O-V-E. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965.

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Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 2020 census, Montgomery's population was 200,603. It is the second most populous city in Alabama, after Huntsville, and is the 119th most populous in the United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area's population in 2020 was 386,047; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas.

Eddie Cole

Eddie Cole

Edward Bennett Coles, known professionally as Eddie Cole, was an American jazz musician and brother to musicians Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole, and Ike Cole.

Ike Cole

Ike Cole

Isaac Cole was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was the brother of musicians Nat King Cole, Eddie Cole, and Freddy Cole, and uncle of Natalie Cole, Lionel Cole, and Carole Cole.

Freddy Cole

Freddy Cole

Lionel Frederick Cole was an American jazz singer and pianist whose recording career spanned almost 70 years. He was the brother of musicians Nat King Cole, Eddie Cole, and Ike Cole, father of Lionel Cole, and uncle of Natalie Cole and Carole Cole.

Chicago

Chicago

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Baptists

Baptists

Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only, and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.

Organ (music)

Organ (music)

In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones. The organs have usually two or three, up to five manuals, for playing with the hands, and pedalboard, with the feet. With the use of registers, several groups of pipes can be connected to one manual.

Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals.

Gospel music

Gospel music

Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music is characterized by dominant vocals and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century.

Classical music

Classical music

Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also applies to non-Western art music. Classical music is often characterized by formality and complexity in its musical form and harmonic organization, particularly with the use of polyphony. Since at least the ninth century it has been primarily a written tradition, spawning a sophisticated notational system, as well as accompanying literature in analytical, critical, historiographical, musicological and philosophical practices. A foundational component of Western Culture, classical music is frequently seen from the perspective of individual or groups of composers, whose compositions, personalities and beliefs have fundamentally shaped its history.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

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Bud Billiken Club

Bud Billiken Club

The Bud Billiken Club was a social club for African–American youth in Chicago, Illinois, established in 1923, by the Chicago Defender founder Robert Sengstacke Abbott and its editor, Lucius Harper. The Bud Billiken Club was formed as part of the Defender Junior, the children's page in the newspaper, to encourage reading, appropriate social conduct, and involvement in the community, among the young people of Chicago. Since 1972, the Bud Billiken Club has been known as Bud Billiken Youth. 90 years after it was founded, the organization has grown into a year-round program that supports youth with financial and academic help. They also continue to shine the light on outstanding young people who might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Personal life

Around the time Cole launched his singing career, he entered into Freemasonry. He was raised in January 1944 in the Thomas Waller Lodge No. 49 in California. The lodge was named after fellow Prince Hall mason and jazz musician Fats Waller.[39][40] He joined the Scottish Rite Freemasonry,[41] becoming Master Mason.[42] Cole was "an avid baseball fan", particularly of Hank Aaron. In 1968, Nelson Riddle related an incident from some years earlier and told of music studio engineers, searching for a source of noise, finding Cole listening to a game on a transistor radio.[21]

Marriages and children

Cole and his second wife, Maria, 1951
Cole and his second wife, Maria, 1951

Cole met his first wife, Nadine Robinson, while they were on tour for the all-black Broadway musical Shuffle Along. He was 18 when they married. She was the reason he moved to Los Angeles and formed the Nat King Cole trio.[43] This marriage ended in divorce in 1948. On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), six days after his divorce became final, Cole married the singer Maria Hawkins. The Coles were married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. They had five children: Natalie (1950–2015), who had a successful career as a singer before dying of congestive heart failure at age 65; an adopted daughter, Carole (1944–2009, the daughter of Maria's sister), who died of lung cancer at the age of 64; an adopted son, Nat Kelly Cole (1959–1995), who died of AIDS at the age of 36;[44] and twin daughters, Casey and Timolin (born September 26, 1961), whose birth was announced in the "Milestones" column of Time magazine on October 6, 1961. Maria supported him during his final illness and stayed with him until his death. In an interview, she emphasized his musical legacy and the class he exhibited despite his imperfections.[45]

Bust of Nat King Cole in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba
Bust of Nat King Cole in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Experiences with racism

In August 1948, Cole purchased a house from Col. Harry Gantz, the former husband of the silent film actress Lois Weber, in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, which was active in Los Angeles in the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any "undesirables" moving into the neighborhood. Cole responded, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."[46] His dog died after eating poisoned meat, something likely to be connected to his moving to the neighborhood.[47]

In 1956, Cole was contracted to perform in Cuba. He wanted to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana but was refused because it operated a color bar. Cole honored his contract, and the concert at the Tropicana Club was a huge success. During the following year, he returned to Cuba for another concert, singing many songs in Spanish.

In 1956, Cole was assaulted on stage during a concert in Birmingham, Alabama, with the Ted Heath Band while singing the song "Little Girl". Having circulated photographs of Cole with white female fans bearing incendiary boldface captions reading "Cole and His White Women" and "Cole and Your Daughter"[48] three men belonging to the North Alabama Citizens Council assaulted Cole, apparently attempting to kidnap him.

The three assailants ran down the aisles of the auditorium towards Cole. Local law enforcement quickly ended the invasion of the stage, but in the ensuing mêlée Cole was toppled from his piano bench and received a slight injury to his back. He did not finish the concert. A fourth member of the group was later arrested. All were tried and convicted.[49]

Six men, including 23-year-old Willie Richard Vinson, were formally charged with assault with intent to murder him, but later the charge against four of them was changed to conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. The original plan to attack Cole included 150 men from Birmingham and nearby towns.[50]

After being attacked in Birmingham, Cole said, "I can't understand it ... I have not taken part in any protests. Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. Why should they attack me?" Cole said he wanted to forget the incident and continued to play for segregated audiences in the American South. He said he could not change the situation in a day. He contributed money to the Montgomery bus boycott and had sued northern hotels that had hired him but refused to serve him.

Thurgood Marshall, the chief legal counsel of the NAACP, called him an Uncle Tom and said he should perform with a banjo. Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP, wrote him a telegram that said:

You have not been a crusader or engaged in an effort to change the customs or laws of the South. That responsibility, newspapers quote you as saying, you leave to the other guys. That attack upon you clearly indicates that organized bigotry makes no distinction between those who do not actively challenge racial discrimination and those who do. This is a fight which none of us can escape. We invite you to join us in a crusade against racism.[51]

The Chicago Defender said Cole's performances for all-white audiences were an insult to his race. The New York Amsterdam News said that "thousands of Harlem blacks who have worshiped at the shrine of singer Nat King Cole turned their backs on him this week as the noted crooner turned his back on the NAACP and said that he will continue to play to Jim Crow audiences". To play "Uncle Nat's" discs, wrote a commentator in The American Negro, "would be supporting his 'traitor' ideas and narrow way of thinking".

Deeply hurt by the criticism in the black press, Cole was chastened. Emphasizing his opposition to racial segregation "in any form", he agreed to join other entertainers in boycotting segregated venues. He paid $500 to become a lifetime member of the Detroit branch of the NAACP. Until his death in 1965, Cole was an active and visible participant in the civil rights movement, playing an important role in planning the March on Washington in 1963.[52][53]

Politics

Cole performed in 1956 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's televised birthday celebration.[54] At the 1956 Republican National Convention, he sang "That's All There Is to That" and was "greeted with applause".[55]

He was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 to support Senator John F. Kennedy. He was among the dozens of entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the Kennedy Inaugural gala in 1961. Cole consulted with Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, on civil rights.

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Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups:Regular Freemasonry insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member profess belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics not take place within the lodge. Continental Freemasonry consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.

Fats Waller

Fats Waller

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with his closest collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". It is likely that he composed many more popular songs than he has been credited with: when in financial difficulties he had a habit of selling songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own.

Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron

Henry Louis Aaron, nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power-hitting records. He broke the long-standing MLB record for home runs held by Babe Ruth and remained the career leader for 33 years. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973 and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.

Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harlem area encompasses several other neighborhoods and extends west and north to 155th Street, east to the East River, and south to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Central Park, and East 96th Street.

Abyssinian Baptist Church

Abyssinian Baptist Church

The Abyssinian Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 132 West 138th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City; it is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA and American Baptist Churches USA.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress from New York, as well as the first from any state in the Northeast. Re-elected for nearly three decades, Powell became a powerful national politician of the Democratic Party, and served as a national spokesman on civil rights and social issues. He also urged United States presidents to support emerging nations in Africa and Asia as they gained independence after colonialism.

Carole Cole

Carole Cole

Carole Cole was an American actress, music producer, and the CEO of King Cole Productions. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole and jazz singer Maria Cole, and the older sister of singer Natalie Cole.

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS

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Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Hotel Nacional de Cuba

The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea and the city.

Lois Weber

Lois Weber

Florence Lois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is identified in some historical references as among "the most important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian Anthony Slide has also asserted, "Along with D. W. Griffith, Weber was the American cinema's first genuine auteur, a filmmaker involved in all aspects of production and one who utilized the motion picture to put across her own ideas and philosophies".

Hancock Park, Los Angeles

Hancock Park, Los Angeles

Hancock Park is a neighborhood in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s, the neighborhood features architecturally distinctive residences, many of which were constructed in the early 20th century. Hancock Park is covered by a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan, commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, in recent decades is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catholics, as well as immigrants, leftists, homosexuals, Muslims, atheists, and abortion providers.

Illness and death

In September 1964, Cole began to lose weight and experienced back problems.[56] He collapsed with pain after performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. In December, he was working in San Francisco when he was finally persuaded by friends to seek medical help. A malignant tumor in an advanced state of growth on his left lung was observed on a chest X-ray. Cole, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, had lung cancer and was expected to have only months to live.[57] Against his doctors' wishes, Cole carried on his work and made his final recordings between December 1 and 3 in San Francisco, with an orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. The music was released on the album L-O-V-E shortly before his death.[58] His daughter noted later that he did this to assure the welfare of his family.

Cole entered Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica on December 7, and cobalt therapy was started on December 10. Frank Sinatra performed in Cole's place at the grand opening of the new Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center on December 12.[59] Cole's condition gradually worsened, but he was released from the hospital over the New Year's period. At home Cole was able to see the hundreds of thousands of cards and letters that had been sent after news of his illness was made public. Cole returned to the hospital in early January. He also sent $5,000 (US$44,000 in 2021 dollars[60]) to actress and singer Gunilla Hutton, with whom he had been romantically involved since early 1964.[61] Hutton later telephoned Maria and implored her to divorce him. Maria confronted her husband, and Cole finally broke off the relationship with Hutton.[62] Cole's illness reconciled him with his wife, and he vowed that if he recovered he would go on television to urge people to stop smoking. On January 25, Cole's entire left lung was surgically removed. His father died of heart problems on February 1.[63] Throughout Cole's illness his publicists promoted the idea that he would soon be well and working, despite the private knowledge of his terminal condition. Billboard magazine reported that "Nat King Cole has successfully come through a serious operation and... the future looks bright for 'the master' to resume his career again".[64] On Valentine's Day, Cole and his wife briefly left St. John's to drive by the sea. He died at the hospital early in the morning of Monday, February 15, 1965.[65]

Cole's vault at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Cole's vault at Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Cole's funeral was held on February 18 at St. James' Episcopal Church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles; 400 people were present, and thousands gathered outside the church. Hundreds of members of the public had filed past the coffin the day before.[66] Honorary pallbearers included Robert F. Kennedy, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, George Burns, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Alan Livingston, Frankie Laine, Steve Allen, and Pat Brown (the governor of California). The eulogy was delivered by Jack Benny, who said that "Nat Cole was a man who gave so much and still had so much to give. He gave it in song, in friendship to his fellow man, devotion to his family. He was a star, a tremendous success as an entertainer, an institution. But he was an even greater success as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend."[67] Cole's remains were interred in Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California.[68]

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Chest radiograph

Chest radiograph

A chest radiograph, called a chest X-ray (CXR), or chest film, is a projection radiograph of the chest used to diagnose conditions affecting the chest, its contents, and nearby structures. Chest radiographs are the most common film taken in medicine.

Lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancers are caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often exacerbated by cigarette smoking, or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged airway cells sometimes gain the ability to proliferate unchecked, causing the growth of a tumor. Without treatment, lung tumors can spread throughout the lung, damaging lung function. Eventually lung tumors metastasize, spreading to distant parts of the body, and causing varying disease. Lung cancers are classified based on the cells they originate from. Around 15% are small-cell lung cancers, while the remaining 85% are adenocarcinomas, squamous-cell carcinomas, and large-cell carcinomas.

Ralph Carmichael

Ralph Carmichael

Ralph Carmichael was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music.

L-O-V-E (album)

L-O-V-E (album)

L-O-V-E is the final studio album by the American singer Nat King Cole. It was arranged by Ralph Carmichael. L-O-V-E was Cole's last album, and was released shortly before his death in February 1965. The songs "The Girl from Ipanema", "My Kind of Girl" and "More " were recorded December 1–3, 1964, shortly after Cole's diagnosis with lung cancer, and were the last recordings he made. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965.

Cobalt therapy

Cobalt therapy

Cobalt therapy is the medical use of gamma rays from the radioisotope cobalt-60 to treat conditions such as cancer. Beginning in the 1950s, cobalt-60 was widely used in external beam radiotherapy (teletherapy) machines, which produced a beam of gamma rays which was directed into the patient's body to kill tumor tissue. Because these "cobalt machines" were expensive and required specialist support, they were often housed in cobalt units. Cobalt therapy was a revolutionary advance in radiotherapy in the post-World War II period but is now being replaced by other technologies such as linear accelerators.

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is among the world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales.

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center, which is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Los Angeles Music Center

Los Angeles Music Center

The Music Center is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Roy and Edna Disney / CalArts Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Gunilla Hutton

Gunilla Hutton

Gunilla Hutton is a Swedish-born American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her roles as the second Billie Jo Bradley (1965–1966) on Petticoat Junction and as a regular cast member in the television series Hee Haw until 1992. She was raised in Fort Worth, Texas.

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy, also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964 and as a U.S. senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination. Like his brothers John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, he was a prominent member of the Democratic Party and is viewed by some historians as an icon of modern American liberalism.

Count Basie

Count Basie

William James "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

Posthumous releases

Cole's last album, L-O-V-E, was recorded in early December 1964—just a few days before he entered the hospital for cancer treatment—and was released just before he died. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965. A Best Of album was certified a gold record in 1968. His 1957 recording of "When I Fall in Love" reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1987, released in reaction to a version by Rick Astley challenging for the coveted Christmas number 1 spot.

In 1983, an archivist for EMI Electrola Records, a subsidiary of EMI Records (Capitol's parent company) in Germany, discovered some unreleased recordings by Cole, including one in Japanese and another in Spanish ("Tu Eres Tan Amable"). Capitol released them later that year as the LP Unreleased.

In 1991, Mosaic Records released The Complete Capitol Records Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio, a compilation of 349 songs available as an 18-CD or a 27-LP set. In 2008, it was re-released in digital-download format through services like iTunes and Amazon Music.

Also in 1991, Natalie Cole recorded a new vocal track that was mixed with her father's 1961 stereo re-recording of his 1951 hit "Unforgettable" for a tribute album of the same title. The song and album won seven Grammy awards in 1992 for Best Album and Best Song.

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L-O-V-E (album)

L-O-V-E (album)

L-O-V-E is the final studio album by the American singer Nat King Cole. It was arranged by Ralph Carmichael. L-O-V-E was Cole's last album, and was released shortly before his death in February 1965. The songs "The Girl from Ipanema", "My Kind of Girl" and "More " were recorded December 1–3, 1964, shortly after Cole's diagnosis with lung cancer, and were the last recordings he made. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965.

Rick Astley

Rick Astley

Richard Paul Astley is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits, including his signature song "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Together Forever" and "Whenever You Need Somebody". He returned to music full-time in the 2000s after a 6-year hiatus. Outside his music career, Astley has occasionally worked as a radio DJ and a podcaster.

Electrola

Electrola

Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano.

Mosaic Records

Mosaic Records

Mosaic Records is an American jazz record company and label established in 1982 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie. It produces limited-edition box sets.

Compact disc

Compact disc

The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in October 1982 in Japan and branded as Digital Audio Compact Disc.

LP record

LP record

The LP is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of 33+1⁄3 rpm; a 12- or 10-inch diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl composition disk. Introduced by Columbia in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry. Apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound, it remained the standard format for record albums until its gradual replacement from the 1980s to the early 2000s, first by cassettes, then by compact discs, and finally by digital music distribution.

ITunes

ITunes

iTunes is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems, and can be used to rip songs from CDs, as well as play content with the use of dynamic, smart playlists. Options for sound optimizations exist, as well as ways to wirelessly share the iTunes library.

Amazon Music

Amazon Music

Amazon Music is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management (DRM) from the four major music labels, as well as many independents. All tracks were originally sold in 256 kilobits-per-second variable bitrate MP3 format without per-customer watermarking or DRM; however, some tracks are now watermarked. Licensing agreements with recording companies restrict the countries in which the music can be sold.

Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole

Natalie Maria Cole was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut album Inseparable (1975), along with the song "This Will Be ", and the album's title track. Its success led to her receiving the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, for which she became the first African-American recipient, as well as the first R&B act to win the award. The singles "Sophisticated Lady" (1976), "I've Got Love on My Mind", and "Our Love" (1977), followed.

Unforgettable (Nat King Cole song)

Unforgettable (Nat King Cole song)

"Unforgettable" is a popular song written by Irving Gordon. The song's original working title was "Uncomparable"; however, the music publishing company asked Gordon to change it to "Unforgettable". The song was published in 1951.

Discography

His hit singles include "Straighten Up and Fly Right" 1944 No. 8, "The Christmas Song" 1946/1962/2018 No. ?/No. 65/No. 11, "Nature Boy" 1948 No. 1, "Mona Lisa 1950 No. 1, "Frosty, The Snowman" 1950 No. 9, "Too Young" 1951 No. 1, "Unforgettable" 1951 No. 12, "Somewhere Along the Way" 1952 No. 8, "Answer Me, My Love" 1954 No. 6, "A Blossom Fell" 1955 No. 2, "If I May" 1955 No. 8, "Send for Me" 1957 No. 6, "Looking Back" 1958 No. 5, "Ramblin' Rose" 1962 No. 2, "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" 1963 No. 6, and "Unforgettable" 1991 (with daughter Natalie).

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Nat King Cole discography

Nat King Cole discography

This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles.

The King Cole Trio (album)

The King Cole Trio (album)

The King Cole Trio is a series of albums by jazz pianist Nat King Cole's King Cole Trio released by the Capitol Records label. These were Cole's debut recordings.

Nat King Cole at the Piano

Nat King Cole at the Piano

Nat King Cole at the Piano is the first studio album by jazz pianist Nat King Cole, released by Capitol in 1950.

Harvest of Hits

Harvest of Hits

Harvest Of Hits is an original jazz compilation by Nat King Cole released by Capitol Records in 1950. Both a 10 – inch (33-1/3rpm) LP version containing 8 tracks, and a 6-track boxed set of three 7 – inch (45rpm) discs was released. The album features Oscar Moore on guitar, Johnny Miller on bass and Lee Young on drums.

King Cole for Kids

King Cole for Kids

King Cole for Kids is an album by jazz pianist Nat King Cole, released by the Capitol Records label.

Penthouse Serenade

Penthouse Serenade

Penthouse Serenade is an instrumental jazz quartet album by Nat King Cole. It was released initially as a 10-inch LP in September, 1952, on Capitol Records. An expanded version was reissued in 1955 and a 19 track version was reissued in 1998.

Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love

Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love

Nat King Cole Sings for Two In Love is a 1953 album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Nelson Riddle. It was expanded and re-released for the larger 12-inch format in 1955, adding four songs.

After Midnight (Nat King Cole album)

After Midnight (Nat King Cole album)

After Midnight is a 1957 jazz album by "Nat King Cole and his trio" on Capitol Records. It peaked at #13 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums chart. The Penguin Guide to Jazz listed the album as part of its suggested “core collection”.

Just One of Those Things (album)

Just One of Those Things (album)

Just One of Those Things is a 1957 album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Billy May. The record placed at number 18 on the Billboard album chart.

Love Is the Thing

Love Is the Thing

Love Is the Thing is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins.

Cole Español

Cole Español

Cole Español is a 1958 studio album by Nat King Cole to the Latin market, arranged by Nelson Riddle. One of three Spanish themed albums that Cole recorded, it was followed by A Mis Amigos (1959) and by More Cole Español in 1962. The orchestral music was recorded in Havana, Cuba, and Cole added his vocals in June in Los Angeles, California. However the song "Tú, mi delirio" is instrumental; Cole overdubbed piano, rather than vocals to this track. The album was later reissued as Español and More, Vol. 1. The album was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The album reached #12 on the Billboard Magazine LP chart.

St. Louis Blues (album)

St. Louis Blues (album)

St. Louis Blues is a 1958 album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Nelson Riddle. St. Louis Blues was the soundtrack to the film of the same name that starred Cole. The Billboard album chart placed the disc at a peak position of #18.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1943 Here Comes Elmer Himself
1943 Pistol Packin' Mama As part of the King Cole Trio Uncredited
1944 Pin Up Girl Canteen pianist Uncredited
1944 Stars on Parade As part of the King Cole Trio
1944 Swing in the Saddle As part of the King Cole Trio Uncredited
1944 See My Lawyer Specialty act As part of the King Cole Trio
1944 Is You Is, or Is You Ain't My Baby? Himself Short subject
1945 Frim Fram Sauce Himself Short subject
1946 Breakfast in Hollywood As part of the King Cole Trio
1946 Errand Boy for Rhythm Himself Short subject
1946 Come to Baby Do Himself Short subject
1948 Killer Diller Himself As part of the King Cole Trio
1949 Make Believe Ballroom Himself As part of the King Cole Trio
1950 King Cole Trio & Benny Carter Orchestra Himself Short subject
1951 You Call It Madness Himself Short subject
1951 When I Fall in Love Himself Short subject
1951 The Trouble with Me Is You Himself Short subject
1951 Sweet Lorraine Himself Short subject
1951 Route 66 Himself Short subject
1951 Nature Boy Himself Short subject
1951 Mona Lisa Himself Short subject
1951 Home Himself Short subject
1951 For Sentimental Reasons Himself Short subject
1951 Calypso Blues Himself Short subject
1952 Nat "King" Cole and Joe Adams Orchestra Himself Short subject
1953 The Blue Gardenia Himself
1953 Small Town Girl Himself
1953 Nat "King" Cole and Russ Morgan and His Orchestra Himself Short subject
1955 Kiss Me Deadly Singer Voice
1955 Rhythm and Blues Revue Himself Documentary
1955 Rock 'n' Roll Revue Himself Short subject
1955 The Nat 'King' Cole Musical Story Himself Short subject
1955 Rhythm and Blues Revue Himself Documentary
1956 The Scarlet Hour Nightclub vocalist
1956 Basin Street Revue Himself
1957 Istanbul Danny Rice
1957 China Gate Goldie
1958 St. Louis Blues W. C. Handy
1959 Night of the Quarter Moon Cy Robbin A.k.a. The Color of Her Skin
1959 Premier Khrushchev in the USA Himself Documentary
1960 Schlager-Raketen Sänger, Himself
1965 Cat Ballou Shouter Released posthumously, (final film role)
1989 Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs Himself Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Ed Sullivan Show Himself 14 episodes
1951–1952 Texaco Star Theatre Himself 3 episodes
1952–1955 The Jackie Gleason Show Himself 2 episodes
1953 The Red Skelton Show Himself Episode #2.20
1953–1961 What's My Line? "Mystery guest" 2 episodes
1954–1955 The Colgate Comedy Hour Himself 4 episodes
1955 Ford Star Jubilee Himself 2 episodes
1956–1957 The Nat King Cole Show Host 42 episodes
1957–1960 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show Himself 2 episodes
1958 The Patti Page Show Himself Episode #1.5
1959 The Perry Como Show Himself Episode: January 17, 1959
1959 The George Gobel Show Himself Episode #5.10
1960 The Steve Allen Show Himself Episode #5.21
1960 This Is Your Life Himself Episode: "Nat King Cole"
1960 Academy Award Songs Himself TV movie
1960 Special Gala to Support Kennedy Campaign Himself TV movie
1961 Main Event Himself TV movie
1961–1964 The Garry Moore Show Himself 4 episodes
1962–1964 The Jack Paar Program Himself 4 episodes
1963 An Evening with Nat King Cole Himself TV movie
1963 An Evening with Nat King Cole Himself BBC Television special
1963 The Danny Kaye Show Himself Episode #1.14
1964 Freedom Spectacular Himself TV movie
1964 The Jack Benny Program Nat Episode: "Nat King Cole, Guest"

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Here Comes Elmer

Here Comes Elmer

Here Comes Elmer is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Stanley Davis and Jack Townley. The film stars Al Pearce, Dale Evans, Frank Albertson, Gloria Stuart, Wally Vernon and Nick Cockrane. The film was released on November 15, 1943, by Republic Pictures.

Pistol Packin' Mama (film)

Pistol Packin' Mama (film)

Pistol Packin' Mama is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Frank Woodruff and written by Edward Dein and Fred Schiller. The film stars Ruth Terry, Robert Livingston, Wally Vernon, Jack La Rue, Kirk Alyn and Eddie Parker. The film was released on December 15, 1943, by Republic Pictures.

Pin Up Girl (film)

Pin Up Girl (film)

Pin Up Girl is a 1944 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy motion picture starring Betty Grable, John Harvey, Martha Raye, and Joe E. Brown.

Breakfast in Hollywood (film)

Breakfast in Hollywood (film)

Breakfast in Hollywood, also known as The Mad Hatter, is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Harold D. Schuster and written by Earl Baldwin. The film stars Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Edward Ryan, Raymond Walburn, Billie Burke, ZaSu Pitts, Hedda Hopper, Andy Russell, Spike Jones and Nat King Cole. The film was released on February 26, 1946, by United Artists.

Killer Diller (1948 film)

Killer Diller (1948 film)

Killer Diller is a 1948 American musical comedy race film directed by Josh Binney and released by All American. Academic and comedienne Eddie Tafoya wrote that "Killer Diller is really more concerned with showcasing black talent appearing at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater than it is with providing audiences with a satisfying story." The movie features The Clark Brothers, Nat King Cole, Moms Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, Butterfly McQueen, the Andy Kirk Orchestra and the Four Congaroos. René J. Hall was the film’s arranger.

Make Believe Ballroom

Make Believe Ballroom

Make Believe Ballroom is a 1949 American musical romantic comedy directed by Joseph Santley and produced by Ted Richmond. It was loosely based on a radio program of the same name by Martin Block and Al Jarvis. The film starred Jerome Courtland, Ruth Warrick, Ron Randell, Virginia Welles, and Jarvis.

Nature Boy

Nature Boy

"Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the album, The Nat King Cole Story. It was written by eden ahbez as a tribute to Bill Pester, who practiced the Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophies adopted by ahbez. The lyrics of the song relate to a 1940s Los Angeles-based group called "Nature Boys", a subculture of proto-hippies of which ahbez was a member.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly is a 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in their feature film debuts. The film follows a private investigator in Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a complex mystery after picking up a female hitchhiker. The screenplay was written by Aldrich and A. I. Bezzerides, based on the 1952 crime novel Kiss Me, Deadly by Mickey Spillane.

Rhythm and Blues Revue

Rhythm and Blues Revue

Rhythm and Blues Revue is a 1955 American concert film directed by Joseph Kohn and Leonard Reed.

Basin Street Revue

Basin Street Revue

Basin Street Revue is a 1956 American film directed by Joseph Kohn and Leonard Reed. The film is also known as Basin Street Review.

Istanbul (film)

Istanbul (film)

Istanbul is a 1957 American CinemaScope film noir crime film directed by Joseph Pevney, and starring Errol Flynn and Cornell Borchers. It is a remake of the film Singapore, with the location of the action moved to Turkey. The plot involves an American pilot who becomes mixed up with various criminal activities in Istanbul.

China Gate (1957 film)

China Gate (1957 film)

China Gate is a 1957 American CinemaScope war film written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller and released through 20th Century Fox. The film is set during the First Indochina War (1946–1954), and depicts the relationship between a sergeant of the French Foreign Legion and the Eurasian wife whom he had abandoned.

Awards and honors

Cole's birthplace on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery
Cole's birthplace on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery

Cole was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. In 1992, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[69] He was also inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. A United States postage stamp with Cole's likeness was issued in 1994. Cole was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.[70]

Cole's success at Capitol Records, for which he recorded more than 150 singles that reached the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts, has yet to be matched by any Capitol artist.[71] His records sold 50 million copies during his career.[72] His recording of "The Christmas Song" still receives airplay every holiday season, even hitting the Billboard Top 40 in December 2017.[73] In 2020, Cole was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.[74]

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Alabama State University

Alabama State University

Alabama State University is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 2020 census, Montgomery's population was 200,603. It is the second most populous city in Alabama, after Huntsville, and is the 119th most populous in the United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area's population in 2020 was 386,047; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas.

Alabama Music Hall of Fame

Alabama Music Hall of Fame

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a 12,500 sq ft (1,160 m2) facility after a statewide referendum in 1987. It currently stands in the town of Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) is an organization and museum in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1978, and opened as museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and distinctive art form indigenous to America. Its mission is also to preserve a continued and sustained program of illuminating the contribution of the State of Alabama through its citizens, environment, demographics and lore, and perpetuating the heritage of jazz music."

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award that is awarded by The Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and the Grammy Trustees Award, which honors non-performers. The honour was established in 1962, with the first awarded recipient in 1963.

Songwriters Hall of Fame

Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the heritage and legacy of a spectrum of the most beloved English language songs from the world's popular music songbook. It not only celebrates these established songwriters, but is also involved in the development of new English language songwriting talent through workshops, showcases, and scholarships. There are many programs designed to teach and discover new English language songwriters. Nile Rodgers serves as the organization's chairman.

DownBeat

DownBeat

DownBeat is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. It is named after the "downbeat" in music, also called "beat one", or the first beat of a musical measure.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures and personnel who have influenced its development.

Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame

Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (LSHOF) is an honor by its board of directors to "educate, preserve, honor and celebrate the legacy of the greatest Latin songwriters from all over the world and their music in every genre." The LSHOF recognizes songwriters from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions internationally. It was founded by songwriters Rudy Pérez and Desmond Child and the inaugural award ceremony began in 2013. LSHOF has members who come from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions of Latin America, Europe, and the United States. In addition to inducting Latin Songwriters into the Hall of Fame, the LSHOF also awards the Premio De La Voz Musa which is given to five inductees and "other special award recipients". Winners are selected by through an online survey.

The Christmas Song

The Christmas Song

"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally.

Source: "Nat King Cole", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 23rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_King_Cole.

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References
  1. ^ "Nat King Cole". Golden Globe Award. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Edwards, Gavin (November 30, 2019). "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
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Further reading
  • Will Friedwald, Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole, Oxford University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0190882044.
  • Epstein, Daniel Mark (1999). Nat King Cole. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 978-0374219123.
  • Bill Dobbins and Richard Wang. "Cole, Nat 'King'." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. September 28, 2016.
  • Pelote, Vincent. "Book Reviews: "Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole," by Leslie Gourse." Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. 49, no. 3, 1993., pp. 1073–1074,
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