"Justin and I did the classic record 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.' This record is . Although Cole had experienced virulent racism in his life and career, Cole, like Louis Armstrong, was never a crusader for racial justice. Hancock Park, however, was an all-white neighborhood that had a "restrictive covenant" barring non-whites from living there unless they were servants. The failure of The Nat King Cole Show left Cole feeling both frustrated and restless, but his options were limited. Once a week, Americans tuned in to watch as Cole and other musicians performed on television (via Indiana Public Media). Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to rack up hit after hit, including "Smile," "Pretend," "A Blossom Fell," "If I May." As if in recognition of the fact, his health began to deteriorate in the fall of 1964. The advertising executives of Madison Avenue refused to risk alienating their white audience base, who was likely to respond with prejudice to a show hosted by a Black American, even one as popular and admired as Nat King Cole. King Cole!" The name stuck. In 1939, he formed the King Cole Trio in Southern California and became an immensely popular recording artist for Capitol Records, helping to make the company's fortune as well as his own. Record companies had previously discouraged black male vocalists from recording anything but blues and novelties, but Cole, whose affable yet dignified stage demeanor was sufficiently unthreatening not to discomfit white audiences, had already surmounted that obstacle in the romantic ballads he recorded with the trio. The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in 1943 and Cole stayed with the recording company for the rest of his career. All were later tried and convicted for the assault. Ballerina, Funny, The Continental, I Wish You Love, You Leave Me Breathless, Thou Swell, My Kind Of Love, Surrey With The Fringe On Top, Where Or When, Miss Otis Regrets, Joe Turner's Blues, Mr. Cole Won't . 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. Chalk? He was criticized by some for regularly performing in segregated-audience venues in the South, for instance. The attack began at the rear of the auditorium when three men ran down the aisles towards Cole and his band. Jazz king Nat King Cole registers in the heart of music lovers as the legendary jazz pianist, singer with a melodious and harmless baritone. An influence on jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Cole was known for a compact, syncopated piano style with clean, spare, melodic phrases. The diagnosis would cut Cole's life very short, because he died not long after the discovery. 1936-1955. Cole hit a lull in her career in the early 1980s due to her struggle with drug addiction, subsequently parting ways with Capitol Records. visit to New York during his early twenties, he met and ultimately married Maria Hawkins, a singer from Boston. By the start of the 1960s, Cole was only getting more popular. What some may not know, though, is that he recorded four versions of the song. 34. 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. The show ultimately failed due to its inability to attract national sponsors because the program was hosted by a black person. It also inspired NBC to offer him his own weekly TV series, which debuted in 1956. Capitol 78-rpm albums [ edit] Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. The property owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving in. In June 1946, the King Cole Trio cut the first record of Mel Torm's "The Christmas Song" (known for its first line, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire"). Start your risk free trial with unlimited access. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. But while Coles studies were central to his artistic development, he became obsessed early on with jazz in general and the pianism of Earl Hines in particular. Jenkins arranged Love Is the Thing, #1 on the album charts in April 1957. Cole's family moved to Chicago, Illinois, while he was still a child. Incomparable Nat King Cole II. The six men arrested were all originally charged with "assault with intent to murder," but the charges were later changed to "conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor" for four of them. Cole performed in many short films, sitcoms, television shows, and played W. C. Handy in the film St. Louis Blues (1958). The Songwriters Hall of Fame's ongoing mission is to celebrate and honor the contributions and legacies of songwriters of all genres of music while developing and nurturing the next generation of songwriters through Master Sessions, songwriting craft forums, scholarships and digital initiatives. Labels. Years active. The trio specialized in swing music with a delicate touch in that they did not employ a drummer; also unique were the voicings of piano and guitar, often juxtaposed to sound like a single instrument. Coles second wife, Maria Ellington (no relation to Duke), felt the same way. 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. Inspired by the playing of Hines, Cole began his performing career in the mid-1930s while he was still a teenager, and adopted the name "Nat Cole." By Robert Pace 6:00 AM PDT, June 25, 2013. At the same time, though, Cole wasn't an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement initially. On August 23, 1956, Cole spoke at the Republican National Convention in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. 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. He was survived by his wife, Maria, and five children; three biological and two adopted. Friedwald, Will (2006). It is this final version that is the standard we hear today. 4th Annual GRAMMY Awards. In 1956, Nat King Cole became star and host of his own network television variety show on NBC-TV on which such guests as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Mel Torme were spotlighted. He was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 to throw his support behind President John F. Kennedy. Have one to sell? Yet despite this and other close encounters with the evils of racism, Cole remained outwardly unfazed and his white fans staunchly loyal. In 1937, after touring with a Black musical revue, he began playing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles. Volume 4 is also issued in a box set of three 45-rpm records. His final days were pretty grim. Sampled by Susan Boyle feat Nat King Cole [sampled] When I Grow Too Old to Dream. Facing death himself, Cole was also dealing with grief. Riddle and Cole recorded one final hit album Wild Is Love, based on lyrics by Ray Rasch and Dotty Wayne. View cart for details. His deep, smooth voice remains one of the most recognizable on record, while his pop material and sentimental arrangements appealed to mainstream tastes. 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 "Cole, Nat 'King'." 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 . . 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. Nat King Cole 12.12.60 9 12 Wks 01.07.23 38 Ramblin' Rose Nat King Cole 08.04.62 . He was, without a doubt, a pioneer, but that doesn't mean his many successes came without struggles. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. (This special compilation also was available as a 27 high-quality LP record set.). The Coles family moved to Chicago in 1923 and Edward, Nats father, set up shop as a Baptist minister, with Perlina, his wife, leading the choir of the True Light Baptist Church and playing organ. He occasionally revisited his jazz roots, as on the outstanding album After Midnight (1956), which proved that Coles piano skills had not diminished. Grove Music Online. First Look: Could PinkPantheress or The Weeknd challenge Miley for Number 1? Missing, however, is the element of contrast that Cole supplied when he started singing with the trio. "[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. Riddle arranged several of Cole's 1950s albums, including his first 10-inch long-play album, his 1953 Nat King Cole Sings For Two In Love. It became a hit instantly, but Cole was unsatisfied. 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. 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. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. But no national sponsor would advertise on a show hosted by a black manit is no coincidence that Cole was attacked on stage in Birmingham in the same year that The Nat King Cole Show was launchedand the series was further limited by the fact that Cole, though he was a genial host, could not act, meaning that he was incapable of appearing in the comedy sketches that were staples of most other TV variety series of the period. When the Hancock Park Property Owners Association found out, though, they were furious and offered Cole his money back plus some profit. His stature as a popular icon was cemented during this period by hits such as "The Christmas Song" (Cole recorded the tune four times), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Mona Lisa" (1950), "Too Young" (1951), and his signature tune "Unforgettable" (1951). in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. 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. Instead, his style was quiet, understated, and arrestingly direct, as if he were sitting across from you, telling a story about a mutual friend. Despite these horrific acts, the Coles never wavered, and Nat King Cole would live in his Hancock Park home until his death. "I think it was too early," Kitt said, "to show ourselves off as intelligent people."[2]. Record Of The Year Ramblin' Rose (Single) More from the 5th A Awards. Unfortunately, the cancer had spread. Oxford University Press. Finally, in 1960, almost 15 years after that first recording, Nat King Cole redid the holiday classic when his voice was "at its smokiest." 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. A multi-talented musician who played piano, bass, and tuba, Eddie would sneak out in the night to perform at various gigs around town, and it wasn't too long before young Nat started following him around, too. After 14 frustrating months, Cole called it quits, crisply telling a newspaper columnist that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.. Adapting his style, however, was one factor that kept Cole popular up to his early death from lung cancer in 1965. Cole Wont Rock and Roll (1962) that served only to make him look even further out of touch. Feb. 28, 2023 2 PM PT. The King Cole Trio 78rpm Single 10-inch Capitol Records #311 The Christmas Song. Luckily, the young Cole had his older brother Eddie to guide him. On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), just six days after his divorce became final, Cole married singer Maria Hawkins Ellingtonno relation to Duke Ellington although she had sung with Ellington's band. 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. February 15, 1957. Free delivery for many products. 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. He also performed as a pianist on sessions with Lester Young, Red Callender, and Lionel Hampton. We want to hear your thoughts about this article. 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. By the 1950s, he worked almost exclusively as a singer, with such notable arrangers as Nelson Riddle and Billy May providing lush orchestral accompaniment. It was emulated by many musicians, among them Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Tommy Flanagan, and blues pianists Charles Brown and Ray Charles. Nat was piano player and leader of the combo. He received music lessons from his mother and his family moved to Chicago when he was five, where his father Edward James Coles was a Baptist minister. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. 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. 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." Naxos of America / OKeh Records AllMusic Quiz. He rejected it, cheekily requesting $1 million instead. Hittin The Ramp: The Early Years 1936-1943 by Nat King Cole (Record, 2019) $148.99 New. Unlike Sinatra, Cole was not a confessional performer whose interpretations reflected the dark side of his personality. Cole did not finish the concert and never again performed in the South. He formed his first jazz group, the Royal Dukes, five years later. 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. In Will Friedwalds well-chosen words, he could do almost anything that any other artist could do, but no one else could do what he did.. He was to sell a total of 50 million records during . Nat King Cole recorded this for the first time in 1946 with his group The Nat King Cole Trio. Cole also appeared in many movies, his last one being Cat Ballou (1965), starring Lee Marvin. eBay Money Back Guarantee. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Audio CD. In . 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. Something went wrong. According to NPR, he sold over 50 million records and had hit after hit during his career, including more than 30 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 (via Billboard). This article contains a list of albums by Nat King Cole and compilations of his recordings, together with a list of his chart singles. According to UDiscover Music, Cole also had perfect pitch, making him able to pick out and identify a note on the piano in an instant. Instead, his most publicized relationship was his marriage to Maria Hawkins Ellington. 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. September 28, 2016. While this shift to pop music led some jazz critics and fans to accuse Cole of selling out, he never totally abandoned his jazz roots; as late as 1956, he recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight. His father died just two weeks before he did. But music-industry insiders had already taken note of the King Cole Trio and its leader, and one of them, the songwriter Johnny Mercer, signed the group to a contract with Capitol, a new record label founded by Mercer himself that quickly became an industry powerhouse. The year was 1936, and Cole had left his hometown of Chicago to go on tour with a Broadway musical revue. Unfortunately, from the beginning,The Nat King Cole Show always struggled with one thing: sponsors. When they came upon a house in Hancock Park, they agreed that they had found their future home. According to theOrlando Sentinel, after his time with Shuffle Along came to an end in Long Beach, Cole and his wife at the time decided to settle in California. He churned out song after song, including classics like "Unforgettable" and "Mona Lisa." In 1956, Nat King Cole was a superstar, selling millions of records and touring all over the country. The Nat King Cole Story [45rpm 200g Vinyl] by Nat King Cole (Vinyl, Jan-2011, 5 Discs, Analogue Productions) $1,199.00 New. There, his father became a minister; Nat's mother, Perlina, was the church organist. Why should they attack me?" "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. Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers, and noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. Genealogy for Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919 - 1965) family tree on Geni, with over 240 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. They were also regular performers at clubs. Basin Street Revue. All that remained was for Cole to fully realize his potential as a vocalistsomething that happened sooner than anyone, even Mercer, could possibly have expected. . Song Year: 1954. 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. Not much is publicly known about this first marriage, which came to an end about 11 years later in 1948. Spouse (s) Nat King Cole. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. Get notified of exciting GRAMMY Award news and upcoming events! Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. The LA Sentinel describes how Cole, who was known for his smooth, rich voice, would smoke as many as three packs a day. 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