Uploaded on Nov 17, 2008
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was a musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death.
| Nat King Cole | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nathaniel Adams Coles |
| Born | March 17, 1919 Montgomery, Alabama, United States |
| Died | February 15, 1965 (aged 45) Santa Monica, California, United States Interred: Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, swing, traditional pop, jump blues, vocal |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, pianist |
| Instruments | Piano, vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1935–1965 |
| Labels | Decca, Capitol |
| Associated acts | Natalie Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin |
Childhood and Chicago
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919.[1] When he was 4,[2] he and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his father, Edward Coles, became a Baptist minister.Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina Coles, the church organist. His first performance was of "Yes! We Have No Bananas" at age four. He began formal lessons at 12, eventually learning not only jazz and gospel music, but also Western classical music, performing, as he said, "from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff".
Cole had three brothers: Eddie, Ike, and Freddy Coles, and a half-sister, Joyce Coles.
The family lived in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Cole would sneak out of the house and hang around outside the clubs, listening to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jimmie Noone.
He participated in Walter Dyett's renowned music program at DuSable High School.
Inspired by the performances of Earl Hines, Cole began his performing career in the mid 1930s while still a teenager, adopting the name "Nat Cole".
His older brother, Eddie, a bass player, soon joined Cole's band, and they made their first recording in 1936 under Eddie's name. They also were regular performers at clubs. Cole, in fact, acquired his nickname, "King", performing at one jazz club, a nickname presumably reinforced by the otherwise unrelated nursery rhyme about Old King Cole.
He also was a pianist in a national tour of Broadway theatre legend Eubie Blake's revue, "Shuffle Along". When it suddenly failed in Long Beach, California, Cole decided to remain there. He would later return to Chicago in triumph to play such venues as the famed Edgewater Beach Hotel.
Los Angeles and the King Cole Trio
Cole and two other musicians formed the "King Cole Swingers" in Long Beach and played in a number of local bars before getting a gig on the Long Beach Pike for US$90 ($1,507 today) per week. The trio consisted of Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on double bass.The trio played in Failsworth throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions. Cole was not only pianist but leader of the combo as well.
In January 1937, Cole married Nadine Robinson, a dancer he had met when they both worked in the musical Shuffle Along, and moved to Los Angeles.
Radio was important to the Nat King Cole trio's rise in popularity. Their first broadcast was with NBC's "Blue Network" in 1938. It was followed by appearances on NBC's "Swing Soiree." In the 40's the trio appeared on the "Old Gold," "Chesterfield Supper Club" and "Kraft Music Hall" radio shows.
Legend was that Cole's singing career did not start until a drunken barroom patron demanded that he sing "Sweet Lorraine". Cole, in fact, has gone on record saying that the fabricated story "sounded good, so I just let it ride."
Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers. Noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. Yet the story of the insistent customer is not without some truth. There was a customer who requested a certain song one night, but it was a song that Cole did not know, so instead he sang "Sweet Lorraine".
The trio was tipped 15 cents for the performance, a nickel apiece (Nat King Cole: An Intimate Biography, Maria Cole with Louie Robinson, 1971).
The group had previously recorded for Excelsior Records, owned by Otis René, and had a hit with the song "I'm Lost", which René wrote, produced and distributed.[3] Revenues from Cole's record sales fueled much of Capitol Records' success during this period.
The revenue is believed to have played a significant role in financing the distinctive Capitol Records building near Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles. Completed in 1956, it was the world's first circular office building and became known as "The House that Nat Built."
Cole was considered a leading jazz pianist, appearing in the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts (credited on the Mercury Record label as "Shorty Nadine"—derived from his wife's name—as he was under exclusive contract to Capitol Records at the time).[4]
His revolutionary lineup of piano, guitar, and bass in the time of the big bands became a popular setup for a jazz trio. It was emulated by many musicians, among them Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and blues pianists Charles Brown and Ray Charles.
He also performed as a pianist on sessions with Lester Young, Red Callender, and Lionel Hampton. The Page Cavanaugh Trio, with the same setup as Cole, came out of the chute about the same time, at the end of the war. It's still a tossup as to who was first, although it is generally agreed that the credit goes to Cole.
Source: Wikipedia
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