Nat King Cole

Happy Birthday Nat King Cole 1919-1965...Born to a choir director mother and a church pastor father in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole started his piano training at the age of 4. He started classical training as a teenager but soon abandoned that for his passion, jazz. In the 30's he and his brother Eddie began playing in Chicago clubs and made their first recording under Eddie's name in 1936. Cole joined the touring company of "Shuffle Along" as a pianist staying on in Long Beach, California when the show closed there.

Cole and two other musicians formed the King Cole Swingers playing in clubs and bars and performing on radio throughout the late 30's. In 1943 they finally landed on the charts with the hit "Straighten Up and Fly Right", a song Cole wrote after being inspired by one of his father's sermons. Johnny Mercer recorded it for his new record company, Capitol Records and the record put both the musicians and the record company on the map. The iconic Capitol Records offices built in 1956 in Los Angeles would become known as "The House that Nat Built".

By the 50's Cole had become a successful solo performer recording hits such as "Nature Boy", "Mona Lisa", "Too Young", "Unforgettable" and "The Christmas Song". Although some jazz critics and fans accused him of selling out by making the pop recordings he continued to explore his jazz roots, recording an all-jazz album "After Midnight" in 1956.

That same year he became the first African-American performer to host a variety television show and for many white Americans, he was the first black person to be welcomed into their homes. The show was originally run on Monday nights for 15 minutes, later expanding to half an hour in 1957. But despite the support of NBC and many of the performers who appeared on his show working for scale (or for nothing) to help keep it afloat, "The Nat King Cole Show" was cancelled for lack of a national sponsor. Cole also made appearances in films, sitcoms and television shows. He played W.C. Handy in "St. Louis Blues" and played himself in the majority of films. His last film appearance was in "Cat Ballou", released after his death.

He was a heavy smoker of Kool brand cigarettes and believed that smoking up to three packs a day gave his voice it's distinctive silky baritone. He would often smoke several cigarettes in rapid succession before recording. He had been advised to give up smoking in 1953 after being treated for ulcers but did not comply. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1964 and died a little more than a year later at the age of 45.