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Nat King Cole

Nat "King" Cole started his career as a jazz pianist, then switched to singing popular ballads, often folk-based. He became one of the most popular vocalists of all time. Although never an R&B or Rock & Roll musician, he was influential on many singers in these styles. For example, Bo Diddley cited him as an important influence.

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. His family moved to Chicago when he was a child. At an early age he learned the organ and piano, playing jazz, gospel and classical European music. As a teenager, he began performing in Chicago clubs under the name Nat Cole with his brother, a bassist. Moving to California, he formed the "King Cole Swingers" and then the Nat King Cole Trio, which played in Los Angeles clubs in the late 1930s. He started singing in between instrumental numbers, gradually increasing the ratio of songs in response to audience demand. The King Cole Trio was an unusual combination of piano, guitar and bass in the big band era, later copied by other musicians including pianists Charles Brown and Ray Charles.

The trio signed with Capitol Records in 1943. Nat King Cole's first hit was his "Straighten Up And Fly", based on a folk tale, which sold over half a million copies. Later in the 1940s Nat King Cole moved away from jazz to more popular music, often with a string orchestra backing, with hits such as "The Christmas Song", "Nature Boy" and "Mona Lisa". His "Too Young" was the #1 song in 1951.

Through the 1950s Nate King Cole recorded many huts for Capitol, including "Smile", "Pretend", "A Blossom Fell" and "If I May", often arranged by Nelson Riddle. Towards the end of the decade, in an attempt to retain popularity, he recorded the rock & roll song "Send For Me", which reached #6 on the pop charts. He continued to record in the 1960s, dying of lung cancer in 1965 aged 45. His daughter Natalie Cole (pictured with Nat above) went on to become a successful singer in her own right. Her 1991 album "Unforgettable ... With Love" featured her own arrangements of her father's greatest hits, and sold over 7 million copies.

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