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. Adapting his style, however, was one factor that kept Cole popular up to his early death from lung cancer in 1965. He occasionally revisited his jazz roots, as on the outstanding album After Midnight (1956), which proved that Coles piano skills had not diminished. Anniversary Flashback: Al Martino gains first UK Number 1 single 70 years ago. Subjected to all the barriers of the Jim Crow era, Cole's unprecedented success helped advance Black Americans' role in media, and while he never considered himself an activist, he would directly challenge segregation and contribute to the Civil Rights Movement. Volumes 1-4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. Missing, however, is the element of contrast that Cole supplied when he started singing with the trio. 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). 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. The racist mob never showed up, resulting in the smaller-scale attack that transpired. Louis Blues. During the early 60s, Cole also travelled extensively, doing highly successful concert tours of Latin America, Japan, the European Continent and England. Cole was dedicated to seeing the pioneering show succeed, not for the money but to break down barriers and disprove racial prejudices. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. In June 1946, the King Cole Trio cut the first record of Mel Torm's "The Christmas Song" (known for its first line, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire"). A heavy smoker, Cole died of lung cancer at age 45. New Releases. After Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole is the best remembered of the singers who dominated American popular music between the end of the big-band era and the advent of rock . Record Of The Year Ramblin' Rose (Single) More from the 5th A Awards. 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 first of these is the so-called Great Migration that brought 6 million Southern blacks northward to seek better, freer lives in Americas largest cities. Now they became the focus of his second career, and he soon became one of the preeminent pop singers of his generation, Frank Sinatras only male peer. Cole's first marriage, to Nadine Robinson, ended in 1948. Children: 5, including Natalie Cole. He was to sell a total of 50 million records during . His pop hits were collaborations with well-known arrangers and conductors of the day, including Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Ralph Carmichael. 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.. His last album, L-O-V-E, was recorded in early December 1964just a few days before entering the hospital for treatmentand released just prior to his death; it peaked at number four on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965. Cole, a heavy smoker who would smoke as much as three packs of cigarettes a day, died of lung cancer while still at the height of his singing career. After signing with Capitol Records in 1942, Cole and his trio recorded "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Sweet Lorraine" and "Embraceable You." All became major hits, the first of an uninterrupted series of smash recordings to follow for the next 20 years. The album was so popular in Latin America as well as in the United States that two others in the same vein followed: A Mis Amigos (sung in Spanish and According to AllMusic, the two joined forces after Eddie returned from touring with Noble Sissle's band and formed their own swing sextet. Capitol. An African-American jazz pianist, pop vocalist, and balladeer, Cole's popularity is even more incredible considering the time period in which he thrived. He passed away in February 1965 aged 45. [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. 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. There, his father became a minister; Nat's mother, Perlina, was the church organist. . Cole reportedly carried on affairs throughout his marriage. . 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 STORY of Coles life, which is told in Will Friedwalds Straighten Up and Fly Right (2020), the first factually reliable primary-source biography of the singer-instrumentalist, runs parallel to and sheds light on many key aspects of the black experience in 20th-century America. It also inspired NBC to offer him his own weekly TV series, which debuted in 1956. Instead, his most publicized relationship was his marriage to Maria Hawkins Ellington. Why should they attack me?" The last episode of The Nat King Cole Show aired December 17, 1957. The change in musical tastes during the late 1950s meant that Cole's ballad singing did not sell well with younger listeners, despite a successful stab at rock n' roll with "Send For Me" (peaked at #6 pop). Cole first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist, then switched his emphasis to singing, becoming one of the most popular and best-known vocalists of all time. 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. The Nat King Cole Story [45rpm 200g Vinyl] by Nat King Cole (Vinyl, Jan-2011, 5 Discs, Analogue Productions) $1,199.00 New. In London, he performed at a All GRAMMY Awards and Nominations for Nat "King" Cole. Among them were Nat Cole and his family. Police intervened and took custody of three men immediately, while three additional men were arrested in the aftermath of the attack. Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain.". We want to hear your thoughts about this article. On one hand, his existence as a popular Black musician certainly challenged racist sentiments and broke down many barriers. In addition to being a skilled pianist, famous vocalist, and likable stage personality, according to Britannica, Cole also spent some time acting. Sold for 19.99 USD on 28 May 2022 (Buy It Now) 78 rpm. The cancellation would turn out to be the permanent end of his career. 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. His keyboarding had actually begun at age four, when he picked out Yes, We Have No Bananas, on the family piano. After signing with Capitol Records in 1942, Cole and his trio recorded Straighten Up and Fly Right, Sweet Lorraine and Embraceable You. All became major hits, the first of an uninterrupted series of smash recordings to follow for the next 20 years. It sold over 500,000 copies, and proved that folk-based material could appeal to a wide audience. Moving to the west coast, Cole and three other musicians formed the "King Cole Swingers" in Long Beach and played in a number of local bars before getting a job on the Long Beach Pike for $90.00 per week. Top performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Pearl Bailey, Mahalia Jackson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett, and Harry Belafonte, appeared for the minimum wage allowed by the union. 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). 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. (via NewsOne). "[1] The program featured some of the most acclaimed artists,who performed at a fraction of their usual rate to help keep the show on the air. He always blamed the advertising executives for the show's end, bitterly commenting, "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.". In 1948, Cole purchased a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole's first introduction to music was in the church. Cole died in his sleep at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. The year was 1936, and Cole had left his hometown of Chicago to go on tour with a Broadway musical revue. On February 15, 1965, Cole died at the age of 45. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. Nat King Cole 78rpm Single 10-inch Capitol Records #1449 Too Young, Nat King Cole 78rpm Single 10-inch Capitol Records #1010 Mona Lisa, Stan Kenton & Nat King Cole/ Jam-bo/ Orange colored sky Schellack 78 rpm, NAT KING COLE 78 RPM GRAMOPHONE RECORDS X 8. In addition to being an incomparable lyricist, Mercer was also a shrewd talent scout, and he sensed that Coles singing was capable of appealing to white listeners as well as black ones (the trio had previously recorded for Deccas Sepia Series of race records that were specifically marketed to urban blacks). Singer. It's rare for songs to withstand the test of time and become classics. One of the men was identified to be a member of the white supremacist group White Citizens' Council. 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. Nat King Cole: Encore. 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