This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SeanO (talk | contribs) at 13:05, 20 November 2003 (This move to Cali. and association with Capitol Records.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 13:05, 20 November 2003 by SeanO (talk | contribs) (This move to Cali. and association with Capitol Records.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Nat "King" Cole (March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965) was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, a singer and jazz musician.
His family moved to Chicago, Illinois while he was still a young child. The year of this birth has also been reported as 1917, but according to Daniel Mark Epstein's biography of Cole, the 1920 Census reports Nat as an infant.
He began his performing career in the mid-1930s and recorded with his brother Eddie Coles in 1936. Nat soon moved to Los Angeles and formed a small band. Cole did not achieve widespread popularity until Sweet Lorraine in 1940 (see 1940 in music). During the 1940s he sang and played with the King Cole Trio, which consisted of Nat on Piano, Oscar Moore on Guitar, and Wesley Prince or Johnny Miller on Bass.
The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in the early 1940s and stayed with the recording company throughout his career. By the 1950s, Cole's popularity was so great that the Capitol Records building, on Hollywood and Vine, was sometimes referred to "The House that Nat Built".
Virtually unique at the time, Cole reached out to mainstream audiences with the #1 hit Mona Lisa in 1950. This began a new phase in his career, primarily as a pop balladeer, though he never totally ignored his roots in jazz.
In 1948 Cole purchased a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The property owners association told Cole they didn't want any undesireables moving in. Cole retorted "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesireable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."
He married Maria Ellington and had several children. His daughter, Natalie Cole and his younger brother, Freddie Cole are both singers.
Nat King Cole died of lung cancer in 1965 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California, USA.
Notable Songs
- Straighten Up and Fly Right
- Sweet Lorraine
- Nature Boy (written by Eden Ahbez)
- Mona Lisa
- Lush Life
- Ramblin' Rose
- Unforgettable