Nat “King” Cole
Who is Nat “King” Cole?
Nat “King” Cole ,was born as Nathaniel Adams Coles,on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a famous American pianist and singer.
He was a very popular man during the 1940's as he was one of the most stylistically advanced jazz pianists of the 1940s and during the 1950's and 1960's, he is considered as one of the most eading popular singer.
Early Life and his carrier
Eventhough he was born in Alabama, he grew up in Chicago,and his major influence was pianist Earl Hines was a major influence.It was in 1937,in Los Angels, Cole formed his first trio with famous guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince.
It was during this time he had an extended stay at the Sewanee Inn,and this is where he first started singing to vary the musical pace.
He along with The trio which includes Johnny Miller who replaced Prince on bass and in 1944 this troop achieved its first major success with “Straighten Up and Fly Right.”
Marriage and children
In 1948 cole divorced his first wife Nadine Robinson, ended in 1948 and after six days On March 28, 1948 ,on an Easter Sunday, he married the famous singer Maria Hawkins Ellington.The couples got married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. The couples had 5 daughter and they were
i)Daughter - Natalie,born in 1950
ii)Adopted daughter - Carol, she was the daughter of Maria's sister was born on 1944 and she recently died in 2009 at the age 64 due to Lung cancer
iii)Adopted son - Nat Kelly Cole, who was born in 1959 and he died at the age of 37 due to AIDS
iv & v)Twin girls - Casey and Timolin, were born in 1961
Cole's Success
He gave a great hit album “The Christmas Song” in 1946 and it was Cole's recording of singer Mel Tormw.But Cole had a great success better than this album in th year 1948 “Nature Boy,” and it was a massive hit. More than a million copies of this album was sold, soon after its release.
Apart from these two massive hits he also produced other hit albums which includes
i)“Route 66” in the year 1946
ii)“Unforgettable” in 1950 and
iii)“Mona Lisa” in 1950,
The album "Mona Lisa" was also added as s the theme song for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A and it evenyually won an Academy Award in 1950
During his entire carrier, Cole received tremendous popularity as a singer,but he received only little recognition for his innovations as a pianist.During the early 1940's, he regularly employed advanced chord voicings and harmonic substitutions which the “bebop” innovators such as saxophonist Charlie Parker were starting to discover.
Apart from this, Cole's melodic style is considered as and important link between swing and bebop and his creative abilities as a jazz pianist was known to others with the help of his album After Midnight in 1956
Cole connection with Politics
Apart from these albums Cole also sang at the Republican National Convention in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on August 23, 1956. In 1961 Cole was given th eopputuniy among the dozens of entertainers who were recruited by Frank Sinatra sp to perform at the Kennedy Inaugural gala.He was not only a Pianist but also he used to discuss on the matters of civil right with President Kennedy and later with President Johnson.
Death of Cole
Cole's last album was, L-O-V-E,and it was recorded in early December 1964 andit was just a few days before he wa hospitalised as he wasnted to take treatment for lung cancer and was released few days prior to his death.
Cole was a chain smoker and he believed that this amoking will keep his voice low.Cole had a very young carrier and he died at the age of 45 on February 15, 1965 due to Lung cancer
Fame after Death
Cole was a famous man and eventhough he died at the age of 45 he inducted into both the "Alabama Music Hall of Fame" and the "Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame", after his death.He also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
Mosaic Records released "The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio," in 1991, which is an 18-compact-disc set and it consists of 349 songs
He was also inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame during the year 1997.Recently in 2007, he was also inducted into the "Hit Parade Hall of Fame".
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